TMNT The Glasses of Life Book 1
by MelancolyHills
Summary: Hi everyone, this story contains fan characters so if you don't like those don't read this. In this chapter the guys are meeting Kennedy Honors (FC) on their way back to the city. Based after Season Three (2012) when they show up in their new armor and Leo says their going back. I can't remember the name but you get my point.
1. Chapter 1

_**When the turtles meet Kennedy Honors**_

 _Mild romance/action/friendship/gore_

 _Some Kennedy x Mikey, Leo x Karai, Donnie x April, Casey x Raph_

It began as a mission to take back their city, it ended as a new beginning to a fantastic adventure of determination, passion, love and sacrifice. Leonardo was fiddling with a pair of glasses he'd found a few steps back when he heard Mikey's voice.

"Hey dudes, check it out!"

Leo tucked the glasses in his belt pouch before turning to address the issue. They had stopped to walk the rest of the way for a stealthier approach while Casey and April took the van. The duo was to be stationed near Shredder's dojo and to spy on anything that was going on.

"For the last time, Mikey, we don't care about a rock that looks like ice-cream kitty!" complained Donatello. Mikey shook his head rapidly.

"No, no! This time I mean it! I… I think it's alive!"

"The _rock_ , is alive?" Raphael retorted.

"It's not a rock! I… I don't know what it is but… just, just, come here!" Mikey tugged Donnie towards the thing he'd seen and Raphael groaned and followed.

"Hey, where's everyone going? Did you forget we have a city to take back?" asked Leo when no one answered him. Raph shrugged and motioned for Leo to follow him.

"Mikey has decided this is a good time to make friends with a rock."

"It's not a rock!" Mikey's voice echoed. Raphael and Leo stopped behind Donnie, who looked as intrigued in Mikey's discovery as a cat with a ball of string. A shadowy lump was what had Donnie so hypnotised; it was the size of Raphael.

"That is a big ass rock," Raph scoffed.

"Raph, it's not… _she's_ not a rock," Donnie breathed. Leo pushed past Raph.

" _She_?!" he exclaimed, but his excitement faded when he saw the figure. Definitely alive, and definitely a girl, but not the one they were looking for. "What's she doing all the way out here?" Donnie only shook his head and continued staring at the girl.

"My guess would be fleeing the city like everyone else," Raph spat.

"Whoever she is, I don't think she was running away, I think she was being chased," whispered Donatello. Leo lifted a brow, but Mikey asked his question for him:

"How can you tell?"

"Just look at her!" Donnie exclaimed, spreading his arms wide. "She's armed like she was about to go to a war!" now that Donnie mentioned it, Leo and the others could see weapons and several sachets wrapped around the girls waist and torso. A black cloak was worn to hide it. The girl also wore a black mask, covering the entire top of her head and face. Then Leo noticed something around the girl's neck. A necklace… a necklace he'd seen before. Of course, it wasn't the same necklace, but it had the symbol.

"Hey guys, check out her necklace!" his brothers saw it too.

"Dude, it looks just like Splinter's!"

"Not exactly, Mikey: see how hers has a lot more cracks and scratches on it?"

"Must belong to her," Raph said, now appearing mildly interested in the girl.

"Well yeah, but where would _she_ get a Hamato necklace… why does she even-?" Leo's question would have to wait; for the girl began to stir.

"Uhg… mm…"

"Hey guys, she's waking up!" Mikey announced, and leaned in close to the girls face. "Helloooo?" he said. Donnie yanked him backwards.

"Dude, do you want her to punch you out with those?!" whispered Donnie shrilly, pointing at the metal claws the girl wore around her palms. "She probably needs some space-"

"What I need is medical coverage…" croaked the girl. The turtles jumped. The girl sat up and rubbed her throat. "… Ow, and some water…" she looked to her right, squinted, then looked back at the turtles, squinted again, and finally looked down.

"I'll get some for you!" cheered Mikey, and before anyone could stop him, he strolled towards a nearby stream.

"Uh, ma 'me?" Donnie began. The girl was searching for something as he spoke, but stopped to squint at him. "You may want to-"

"Ma 'me is my grandmother," the girl interrupted. "Call me Kennedy or Kenn. I'm 16 for crying out loud…" Donnie watched Kennedy as she glanced across the forest floor again, rather stunned that she hadn't started screaming yet. Although, it was possible that she just came from New York, perhaps mutants didn't scare her anymore? "Incidentally…" she swept a glance across the floor once more before continuing. "Have you boys seen my glasses anywhere?"

"Glasses?!" all four cried in unison. Mikey had returned with the water moments ago. Kennedy lifted a brow.

"Yes glasses. I'm severely far-sighted. I can't see jack without them…" Leo felt his belt pocket absentmindedly.

"That would explain why you haven't run away screaming yet…" grumbled Raph, who had receded into the background, leaning casually against a tree. Kennedy snorted.

"Dude, I know boys are scary, but that's a bit much." Leo chuckled and knelt in front of Kennedy. She squinted at him. He pulled out the glasses.

"Are these what you mean, ma-… Kennedy?"

"What part of, 'I can't see jack without them' didn't you understand?" It took Leo a minute to understand what she meant.

"Oh! Right, sorry." Leo handed her the glasses. Kennedy took them and nodded.

"Thanks."

"Sure."

Kennedy fiddled with them a bit, held them away from her face and squinted at them, then slipped them onto her face. She closed her eyes and smiled. Leo assumed that meant they were hers. Then she looked up at him. _Well, here we go again_. Leo mentally prepared his ears for screams. There were none. Kennedy looked behind him at Donnie, Mikey, and then Raph. She shook her head.

"I must be in the Twilight Zone," she murmured. It was a stare-down between Kennedy and the turtles. Leo swallowed.

"'Fraid not," he said. And then, to the shock of everyone, Kennedy shrugged and took the cup Mikey was handing her.

"You know, if my best-friend wasn't a giant snake, I'd be freaking out right now," she said through gulps. Leo, Donnie and Raph shared looks of shock. Mikey sat cross-legged in front of Kennedy and grinned.

"Wow, that's the best first impression we ever made!" Kennedy smiled and took the last swig of water before standing and walking towards Leo, who was still looking at Donnie and Raph.

"So," she said to get Leo's attention. "To save time, I'm going to assume you're…" she studied his face. "… Leonardo, right? Do you prefer Leonardo or Leo?" Leo's jaw dropped. His throat was dry. Donnie stepped next to him.

"You know Splinter," he stated. Kennedy nodded.

"And his daughter," Leo whispered. Kennedy leaned her weight on her left side and put a hand on her hip.

"What, the necklace and: _my best friend's a snake_ thing didn't give it away?" she taunted, while fiddling with her necklace. Leo ignored her.

"Where are they?!" he demanded, more harsh than he'd intended. Kennedy took a step back.

"Easy does it dude, they're back at my place in the city. I was going to get some more supplies when the Kraang found me and chased me out of the city… uh oh…" Kennedy looked around before asking, "What day is it today?" The boys gave each other looks.

"August 17th," Donnie replied.

"Oh, what do you know, my birthday was two days ago," said Kennedy. "Guess I'm 17 then…" she put her hand on her chin. "I think it's been… oh God, I should probably call Nutmeg and let her know I'm not dead," she said and fumbled through her cloak.

" _Nutmeg_?" Leo said with a lifted brow while Donnie and Raph just gave each other looks. Kennedy nodded.

"You probably know her as either Karai or Miwa. I thought she told me her name was Nutmeg when I first ran into her. She was mumbling something fierce…" Kennedy pulled out her phone.

"But still, Nutmeg?" Raph teased.

"Hey, it's better than what she thought I said my name was," Kennedy said with a wink. Leo couldn't help but ask:

"Um… K-Karai's okay though, right? I mean, I know Splinter was…"

"Shred-handled?" Kennedy supplied. Leo nodded.

"But, she's okay right?"

"Eh, define 'okay'," Kennedy said as she checked her phone. Leo nearly fainted, but held onto consciousness enough to say:

"L-like, no broken bones or anything? Still remembers that we're her… that Splinter's her real father?"

" _Oh_ yeah, can't get her to stop saying it," Kennedy said and rolled her eyes.

"So she's okay?" Leo persisted, oblivious to the silent taunts from his brothers. Kennedy smiled.

"Yep!" her phone began to ring, a tune Leo recognised. It was a Skillet song, what was it called…? Kennedy tapped the screen a few times, and then her expression fell. "Nope," she said.

"What?" asked Mikey.

"Nutmeg doesn't call me; she texts. I have no missed texts over the four days I've been gone and now she's calling me…" Kennedy tapped the screen on her phone while murmuring "Please still be alive, please still be alive…" Leo felt his insides twist. His lungs suddenly refused to take in oxygen, his head swam in dizziness. He felt hands grab his arms.

"Leo! Are you okay?" the voice was hazy, demented, like a short-circuiting robot. He heard other voices make noise at him, barely recognisable for his worry flooded ears.

"Hey! Bro, keep it together! She's not dead yet… ghosts can't call people." Leo recognised the snarky voice but was unable to ride it back to full consciousness.

"Leo!"

"Uhg…" his head was bathed in pain. "Ow…" he opened his eyes. The forest slipped into view, as did the worried faces of his brothers. He saw Kennedy a few feet away with her hand against her ear.

"What's up, kid?" she said. Leo heard her scream even though she was miles away in the city.

"It's the foot clan! Shredder found us! GET OVER HERE!" Kennedy had the phone held away from her ear with a look of mild discomfort on her face.

"On my way," she said when Karai stopped yelling. Before Leo knew what he was doing, he was on his feet and snatching Kennedy's phone from her hand. He heard her mumble "Yes, you can use that, thanks for asking," before he spoke.

"Karai! It's Leonardo! Are you okay?!" he knew how stupid he must look and sound, but he was a giant mutant turtle, looking stupid wasn't exactly new for him. Leo almost sobbed when she replied, though her voice was nails on a chalk board.

"Leo? Urk! How do you know Kennedy?!" there was banging and screaming in the back ground.

"Never mind that, what's going on?! Are you okay?!" he asked her again. He heard her struggle to push something back.

"…Y-yes, for now…" was… was she…? _No, ridiculous,_ _Karai doesn't cry_. He heard static on the other end before she spoke again. "He has us surrounded…" Leo felt his heart hammer against his plastron. "This is an old house… I don't know how long the door will-" there was a crash, and then Karai screamed.

"Karai?" the line was dead with static. _We're sorry, your call cannot be completed at the time, please check the number or try your call again_. "Karai! Karai can you hear me?! **Karai!** " no response. Leo felt the weight of failure drop on his shoulders again. He fell to his knees. "No…"

"Hey blue!" Leo turned his head to look at Kennedy and his brothers. Each held a skateboard under their arm. "You know how to ride?"


	2. Chapter 2

TMNT The Glasses of Life

Chapter Two

Wind caressing his cheeks, the air dry and cold, having to squint so the rush of the wind didn't give him blood shot eyes: Michelangelo had never felt so alive. Shredding down the old forest path with his brothers and a mysterious girl named Kennedy, to take back a city from pink brained aliens and a ruthless evil dude in a spiky helmet.

"Woohoo!" he let the cry echo through the air. "We are back, New York!" he was the lead skate boarder, following close behind was Raph, then Donnie, then Kennedy and Leo, who were forced to share a board.

"While you're 'back', remember to stay on guard," Kennedy shouted. "The Kraang have this place sealed tighter than Kim Kardashien's face lift!" Mikey didn't understand what she meant, but laughed along with his brothers anyway.

"So… Kennedy?" Mikey heard Leo's voice. "Where are we going, exactly?" they stopped a few feet away from the wall built around the city. There were police officers everywhere.

"My house. Well… it's more of a shack really," she said, and laughed. Leo did not look amused, but Mikey smiled. "I live way on the outskirts of the city," Kennedy explained. "Where no one could bother me. Made it hell to get to work, but I lived in tranquillity. Until the invasion…" her expression was grim. "Now the whole city's a freaking warzone." Mikey flinched at the swear words she saw fit to include. Kennedy crawled through the shrubs and he and his brothers followed. She stopped when they were behind the entrance. "Stay quiet, and wait for my signal," she whispered.

"What do you-?" Leo didn't have time to finish his question. Kennedy was a blur, and then she was a few feet ahead of them, on the sidewalk, in plain view. Mikey's jaw dropped. The police spotted her.

"Hey, kid! Get outta here, this is a quarantined are-" the police officer flew into the wall. He flopped onto the ground and passed out. Kennedy had bounced off of his chest after kicking him and was back where she had begun. The other officers stared in horror. One loaded his rifle.

"Kid," he said. "You got to the count ah three ta get ya sorry-" Kennedy threw a smoke bomb at his face. In a flailing and coughing frenzy, he ran out of the smoke cloud and glared at Kennedy, who grinned, stuck her tongue out, turned 180 and smacked her butt, then sped into the forest. The officer fired his gun but he missed. "After her, now!" all six of them were gone in an instant. The boys were still crouched in the shrub.

"Did you see _that_?!" Mikey whispered shrilly.

"Do you… think I'm blind?" Raph sounded like he'd just woken up.

"That was _amazing_!" Donnie whispered. "She's so fast, it looked like she just teleported!" Mikey and Raph nodded in agreement. "And her kick…"

"Dude, I think it left a dent in the wall!" Mikey rasped and pointed to where Kennedy had kicked the officer. Sure enough, there was a dent. Their jaws dropped in unison, Leo's, for a completely different reason. "Whoa!"

"She's so powerful!" Raph whispered in awe.

"She defies all of the scientific laws… and I don't even care!" said Donnie.

"I think she killed that police officer!" whispered Leo, and pointed at the motionless body Kennedy had kicked. His brothers looked to where he was pointing, and then they shared his horror.

"Dude…" Mikey whispered. Of course the hit was hard if it made a dent, but death? When Mikey thought about it, of course it made perfect sense that a hit like that would kill, but the idea was still unsettling. Kennedy hadn't _had_ to kill the officer.

"That's messed up," whispered Raph.

"Well, when you think about it, it shouldn't be a surprise," Donnie said sadly. "I mean, she made a dent in the wall with his _body_!" Mikey nodded in agreement.

"That doesn't make it any less wrong!" Leo shrilled, but was silenced when his T-phone vibrated in his back belt pocket. He turned to look at it with a lifted brow. His brothers did the same.

"Maybe it's April," Donnie said, more hopeful than worried. Leo took out his phone and clicked on the message.

"What's it say?" asked Mikey. Leonardo read the message out loud:

"' _It's me, Kennedy, I got the cops far enough away, and I'm high-tailing it back. You boys go on ahead, and I'll meet you at my place. If you beat me there, duck in the dumpster beside the abandoned dance studio across from the shack_.' And she sent us a picture of her house and what street it's on," Leo said. He decided not to question how Kennedy got his number, and just put his phone in his pocket again. His brothers nodded once.

They ran to the wall and begun to climb over it. Leonardo stopped at the police officer Kennedy had struck. "I'm sorry," he whispered, and was about to begin to climb, when something caught his eye. In the back of the officer's neck, was a small, empty dart. Leo pulled it out of his flesh and studied it. A tranquilizer dart! She must've stuck it in him when she kicked him! Leo let out a sigh of relief. So Kennedy wasn't a killer after all… Leo frowned and checked the officer's pulse just to make sure. _Yes, he's alive._ He began to climb the wall. A troubling thought echoed through his mind. If Kennedy hadn't killed the officer- Leo climbed around the crater-sized hole in the wall- than how did that dent get there?

The boys had met up with Kennedy almost instantly. She was waiting for them over the wall as soon as they landed. "Took you long enough," she had teased, and led them down the streets to her old house. There were Kraang droids everywhere. They had thrashed about 16 of them and they weren't even half way to Kenn's house yet. Leo couldn't help but notice Kennedy wasn't fighting any of the droids, and they weren't attacking her either.

"Keep moving, boys!" she would say after running ahead of them. And they would finish the droids, and runt to catch up to her. Leo ran up to her (which was not easy, considering how fast she was).

"K-… Kennedy…!"

"Sup?" she slowed down a bit. Leo had to catch his breath before continuing.

"Wh-why aren't the… Kraang… att… acking… you?" Kennedy slowed down even more, which was Leo's sprinting pace, and shrugged.

"I understand the mutagen better than they do on this planet. They can't afford to hurt me."

"You understand _mutagen_?" Donnie asked in amazement. Kennedy shrugged.

"I _am_ a scientist, you know. New found chemical? Dangerous potential? Untested? Let me at it!" Mikey saw Donnie gasp, his cheeks were tinted pink. He sped up to match Kennedy's pace, extending his arm towards her.

"My name's Donatello," he said, and stuttered slightly on his own name. Leo rolled his eyes. Mikey smiled. Kennedy shook Donnie's hand. "And I must say, a fellow scientist? That's very interesting." Kennedy smiled and shrugged again.

"Well I don't exactly plan to make a career out of it." Donnie's expression dropped. "I want to be an interior designer. But I am good at science, so, I could look at a biologist or astronomer as a plan B." They passed several burnt buildings in a row. "Plan C is a Sensei. No sense in letting all of my fighting knowledge go to waste."

"Fighting knowledge?" inquired Raphael. Mikey knew that voice, that was Raph's, _okay, I'd think twice about punching her_ , voice.

"Yes, fighting knowledge. I'm trained by Hamato Cliff-"

"HAMATO CLIFF?!" all four screamed in unison. Kennedy lifted a brow.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm sure you've heard the rumors. No he was not insane."

"No, no, we've heard great things about him, Splinter spoke very highly of Hamato Cliff to us," Leo said, _**that's**_ _how she got the necklace_. Hamato Cliff was Splinter's great grandfather. Kennedy smiled. Mikey thought she had a beautiful smile.

"Well good, I'm glad he had his head screwed on straight. People ripped on Sensei a lot because of the music he liked... and his oh-so eccentric personality." Mikey was sure she was kidding when they slowed to match each other's pace.

"Can they even do that?" he asked, slightly outraged. Kennedy shrugged.

"People are stupid. There's my house," she said, pointing towards a brown, moldy looking shack. Sure enough, foot bots surrounded it. "Aw man, I just swept in there," Kennedy whined and skidded around the corner of the building they were perched behind. She ran towards the foot bots. She crushed one's head with her claws, another was de-armed by her tanto, and the last was shot across the road by a powerful kick. "Let's go," she said, staring at her house.

She ran and stopped in front of her door. She raised her leg and… "Iiiiiiiiiyah!" she kicked her door down. Three puzzled foot bots looked at her. "It isn't nice to touch things that don't belong to you," she scolded. Kennedy threw the foot bots out her window and they crashed into a dumpster. Kennedy brushed her hands off and leaned against her wall. "Honestly, some people are so rude." Mikey stared at her. She was trained by one of the greatest marshal artists to ever live, a scientist, and, by the looks of the pencils, paints and scrap paper all over her floor, an artist too.

"Karai!" Leo pushed past Kennedy to search the house. Mikey decided to seize this opportunity to get a closer look at Kennedy. She was mostly hidden because of the mask and hood, but he could see her lips. They were as pink as the blossoms on the old tree in the dojo. Mikey didn't know why he had a new found interest to look at human lips. Mostly girls; they had nicer lips in his opinion. They were also more fun to draw then guy's lips.

Mikey considered introducing himself to Kennedy, but did not have time, for a strained cry from Leo cut him off.

"I can't find her… she's not in here! Oh my God, what if Shredder took them! What are we going to-"

"Before you go all code brown, chill dude. They know where to go if this place ever gets discovered…" Kennedy kicked off the wall and walked towards her bed.

"What are you talking about?!" Kennedy ignored him and flipped the mattress off her bed. She then brought an axe kick down on the wood and broke it in two. She kicked one piece away from her, then the other. She threw the matt the bed was on against it to reveal her secret weapon.

"A door?" said Donnie.

"My secret hatch," corrected Kennedy. "Karai knows that if this place gets discovered, to hide down there until I can help." Leo crept behind her as she unlocked the door. The other three encircled her as well. She flung the door open, but instead of climbing down, she got on her hands and knees and stuck her head into the hatch. "Hello?" she called.

"… Don't be fooled, it isn't thunder. Staying put would be a blunder." Mikey looked to Donnie for advice on how to take that, but he looked as lost as Mikey felt.

"A stampede," Kennedy said. Donnie's eyes flashed and he made an ' _O'_ shape with his mouth. The others seemed to get it too, so Mikey made a face like he understood.

"Kenn!" Mikey saw Leo's face flash when Karai yelled for Kennedy.

"Turn on the light!" Kenn commanded. A flicker of gold appeared in the hole and Kennedy leapt down.

"Okay, I'm down!" Mikey leapt down after her. There were boxes everywhere, big and small stacked in random places and orders. Mikey spotted a manhole lid to his right, against the wall. _A second escape hatch?_ Karai's head emerged from behind a pile of boxes.

"Kennedy!" she said. Mikey almost didn't recognise her. She was covered in nicks and bruises, her hair was mangled and hacked off in some places, there was gauze wrapped around her head, a red patch on her left temple. Then again, she most likely would have trouble recognising them due to the several new scars on their shells. And for some-Leo- the deeper voice. Kennedy hauled Karai to her feet and punched her arm. Karai laughed and punched her back. Mikey watched in astonishment.

"Nice to see you finally put this place to good use," said Kennedy. Karai seemed to trip on nothing as she stood, but Kennedy steadied her.

"Well, I try," she replied. Her voice sounded… strange. Not like the old cunning, seductive, knowing Karai he knew as his sister. It was gruffer, snarly, snake like. Karai's fork tongue stuck out of her lips. Her eyes were green with black slits in the middle. _Duh_ , Mikey thought. He studied her. If she was a mutant, how was she… how did she look no different from her old self, except for the eyes and fangs?

"Whoa! Take it easy, Leo…" Mikey heard his brothers behind him and turned to see Donnie and Raph, both with extended arms to aid Leo's climb down. He trotted towards them to help.

"Uhg, knock it off! I told you guys I'm fi-!" Leo missed a step on the latter and he tumbled down onto his bad leg. "Ow!" he clamped his hand over his mouth but he was too late, he'd already said it.

"Leo!" Mikey rushed next to his brothers. Donnie had his hands on Leo's shoulders, Raph knelt beside his right side, and Mikey knelt in front of him. He gently touched Leo's leg.

"Uh, Kenn?" he looked at Kennedy and Karai. "You said you know science, right? That's like, body parts right?"

"Biology," Kennedy corrected and nodded, "even on a turtle."

"Is his leg supposed to have a pulse?" Leo's leg was throbbing very noticeably. It looked like the swelling had come back too. Kennedy walked abruptly to Leo's side with Karai not far behind. She knelt beside him.

"No," she answered. Leo was breathing through his teeth, in so much pain, Mikey had to look away. Kennedy pointed a finger at Leo's leg. "That should not be that swollen from a little fall like that…"

"Well, it's been hurt for a long time. Almost four months," supplied Donnie. Kennedy whistled.

"Uhg… c-come on guys… I told you… I-I'm fine…" Kennedy slowly moved her hand towards Leo's leg. "W-what are you…?" Leo didn't have time to ask. Kennedy poked Leo's leg. Leo screamed. Kennedy yanked her hand back and jumped. Then her face was quizzical again, studying him.

"Why in God's name are you walking around with a broken leg?" Mikey's eyes widened in sync with his brother's and Karai's. _Broken? Leo's leg is broken? How did Donnie not see it?_ Donnie's look of shocked puzzlement asked the same question. Leo did not answer Kennedy. Karai looked at Kennedy, gripping her arm. Mikey didn't know if it was for emotional support or that she could not kneel without swaying from weakness.

"How did he get a broken leg?" she whispered. Kennedy shrugged.

"I didn't do it, man," she said.

"He fought the Shredder," spat Raphael. Everyone looked at him. "First it was an army of foot bots. Then Shredder's henchmen. Then Shredder decided to join the party…" Raph looked at the ground with clenched fists.

"Shred-handled," Kennedy said while nodding and rubbing her chin.

"More like bot-hench-shred-handled," snarled Raph.

Karai didn't respond, only looked down. Mikey saw something fall from her cheek and hit the concrete floor. It left a wet stain.

"I-I have to protect… my family…" he was so quiet, Mikey almost didn't hear Leo when he spoke. "I have to… fight for them… I can't… I can't fail…" Mikey thought he saw Leo glance at Karai before adding, "Not again…" by her expression, Karai saw it too.

"It's okay Leo, you're not failing," Donnie said. Leo shook his head and winced.

"Not anymore… I can't fail anymore… be the leader," a smile tugged at his lips. "Outside and in. that's what Splinter told me…" his eyes widened. "Splinter!" he stood up quickly and almost collapsed back down, only to be caught by Raph and Donnie. Mikey saw Karai move to catch him, but she hesitated and stepped back when the others moved in.

"Over here," Kennedy said and motioned for them to follow her. Leo pulled his arms off of Donnie's and Raph's shoulders and hobbled behind Kennedy. Splinter was leaning against the wall, behind the stack of boxes Karai had been behind. His eyes were closed, his body was limp. If Mikey didn't know any better, he'd think he was dead. Karai approached and knelt beside Splinter. She placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Father," she said, "wake up." Splinter's eyes fluttered open. He turned his face to Karai and smiled.

"Miwa," he said and hugged her. Karai recoiled a bit, but hugged him back and smiled. The sight made Mikey smile and tear up.

"Morning there pops," Kennedy chimed and plopped beside him. Without letting go of Karai or opening his eyes; Splinter smiled and said:

"Hello, Kennedy." Kennedy grinned.

"Hey, crazy story, I found these mutant turtles wandering around in the forest. They say they're your sons. Crazy, huh?" Splinter's eyes shot open and he released Karai. His eyes met Leonardo's. He looked at the rest of them.

"Boys…"

"Sensei!" Mikey fell into Splinter's arms and cried. Donnie, Raph and Leo were not far behind. They hugged and cried. Kennedy had never seen such a show of love before. She had never been an affectionate girl herself, but this was a whole other level of love. She smiled when Karai stood up and backed away from tem, stopping beside her.

"This must be the most powerful love I've ever seen in my 17 year old life," she said. She could feel Karai eyeing her. "Birthday was the 15th. 17 now. Hooray for moi," she said and curtsied. Karai huffed out a laugh.

"Sssorry I didn't get you anything," she said with a helpless shrug. Kennedy snorted.

"We thought you were…" Raph tried to say.

"I will never leave you boys, you are my sons," Splinter soothed. And then Kennedy felt it. The warning in the back of her mind, _they're coming_ , it said, _they're coming_.

"We can't stay here," Kennedy said suddenly. The turtles and Splinter looked at her with lifted brows. Karai's colour drained from her face and her limbs shook.

"How many?" she whispered. Her voice cracked. Kennedy put a hand on her shoulder.

"Everyone by the feel of it." Kennedy caught Karai before she hit the ground.

"Hey!" said Leo. Kennedy put her hand on Karai's forehead, focused, and… Karai's eyes fluttered. She moaned and Kennedy sat her down, knelt beside her and waited until she was calm.

"What's going on?" Mikey asked. Kennedy glanced at them. _Should I tell them?... I know they're Karai's brothers, and they did help me out of the forest… but I don't owe them, I took them to their sister and father. In fact, they kind of owe me… without me, Karai would be…_ Kennedy shuddered.

"Can't talk, have to run. Now. Someone grab Splinter and follow me."

"Oh I don't think so," said Leo as he stood. Well, shook and stood. Kennedy turned around and glared ice at him. _Does he even know who he's…_ Kennedy noticed the vile she'd used on the police officer in Leo's hand and sighed and put her hands on her hips. _No, of course he doesn't, poor boy…_

"Listen blue, you don't know what I'm capable of, so I'm going to let that slide. But I'm telling you right now, we stay here, we all get Shred-handled. Some more than others," she said while looking at Karai and Splinter. Leo crossed his arms.

"How do you know Shredder's coming?" he demanded. "What _do_ you know?" Kennedy rolled her eyes. _Great, he's that kind of guy…_

"You wanna wait and ask him when he comes with another army of bots to break your other leg, or listen to me before they have a chance?"

"Will you two sssstop arguing?" Karai said and stepped in between them. "Jeez, you'd ssswear I'm the older one," she said with a warning glare at Kennedy, who shrugged in her nonchalant way.

"I don't pick the targets, I just drop the truth bombs," she said. Karai looked at Leo.

"Lisssten to her, Leo, she knowsss what she'sss talking about." Leo stared at Karai. He looked at her eyes, that was where he used to look to see if she was lying, but the cold green gems where much more reserved then her usual warm brown colour. Leo missed Karai's old eyes. He looked down, the dent in the wall was still poking at his mind. He clenched the vile tightly.

"Ease up dude, Kennedy's not trying to hurt us," Mikey said quietly. Leo whipped his head around to glare at him.

"Did you not see what happened to that officer!?" Mikey said nothing, and looked away from Leo.

"Uh, _you're welcome_ for getting you into the city," Kennedy snapped. "And taking you to your father and sister, who I _could_ have given to Shred-head to make a quick buck, or for a safe escape out of the city, or just for the hell of it!" Leo opened his mouth to argue, but stopped himself after looking at Karai's face. Even though the snake mutation had made her much more difficult to read, he knew by the quiver in her lower lip and the arches in her brows, that she was scared. But it wasn't just the fact that she was scared, that alone was a rarity like a four leaf clover, but, the difference between the looks she gave him, and the looks she gave Kennedy… she wasn't just scared, she was scared _of him_. Leo stepped back.

"What did she ever do to you?" Mikey asked, quietly. Leo looked down. Perhaps having doubts about the kunoichi because she was snarky was not a good reason to distrust her. Snarkyness always had its way of getting under Leo's skin.

"Aw, lay off the child," Kennedy said. "He's not the first to think I'm evil," she said and shot a smug look at Karai, who blushed and looked down.

"You looked like a foot bot," she mumbled. Kennedy snorted and pointed to her right temple.

"Yeah, and I've got the bruise to prove it," she taunted. Karai huffed and crossed her arms. Kenn giggled and shook her head. Leo eyed Kennedy. There was something off about her, something very, very off. The feeling he got when she was close, his skin prickled, the back of his neck tingled and grew cold and sweaty, like it often did when he fought a mutant.

Kennedy motioned for everyone to follow her. They did and climbed out of the hole. Kennedy shot her arm in front of Leo. "Hang back a second, dude," she said in a harsh whisper, and waited until everyone was out of earshot. Leo fiddled with his katana when she turned to him. Kennedy noticed and snorted. "Honestly? I'm not going to attack you; I just want to tell you that you can trust me."

"Right," Leo retorted. "Trust has to be earned-"

"I was getting to that," Kennedy snapped. She crossed her arms. "You want to know how I know the Shredder is coming?" she pointed to her head. "One word: psychic." Leo lifted a brow. "Like April O'Neal. Kraang data files said you guys know her?" Leo's eyes widened and he stepped back. Was she saying she had April's psychic powers? How…? Kennedy was pulling a bag out from a box. She opened the bag and an eerie green glow exploded out of the bag like fireworks. Leo gasped.

"Mutagen…"

"Modified mutagen," Kennedy corrected. "To my specifications. Enhances the mutant's brain in thought, endurance, strength, health, prediction and focus." She winked. "Creating many useful psychic powers, such as super prediction." Leo gaped at her.

"Y-you mutated yourself?" Kennedy shrugged and slung the bag over her shoulder. She still held a vile full of blue liquid.

"I guess so," she said and held up the blue vile of mutagen. "This speeds bone growth and development. I've tested all of these, so they're safe. You want some?" Kennedy motioned at his leg. Leo gave it some thought, looked at Kennedy, and then stepped away.

"I'll pass, thanks," he said. To his surprise, Kennedy shrugged and put the vile back in her bag.

"Alright." She pronounced the word, _ah-ite_. "Change your mind, it'll be there." She scurried up the latter and held out her hand for him. Leo hesitantly took it. She had admitted to him that she was a mutant. Was he the only one that knew? She couldn't have told the guys, he would have noticed for sure. Splinter? Even if she did, he was probably so out-of-it he wouldn't remember. Karai? Leo's expression hardened. Yes, she must have. How else would Karai know to stick up for her like she did? Leo searched his heart. Did it bother him that Karai had stood up to him for Kennedy? His heart throbbed. Why?

"Okay," Kennedy began as she and Leo joined the others behind the house. Behind the house? Leo looked around; he did not recall going outside. "I grabbed some essentials from the shack. Now let's hit the road."

"We have to walk?" Mikey whined. Kennedy grinned.

"Who said anything about walking?" she approached a pile of sheets behind them. She yanked the sheets off. Four motorcycles were revealed. At that point, Leo could tell she was gleaming with pride. The bikes were unbelievably shiny, smooth. But he could tell they weren't _new_ ; the seats were torn. _She must have fixed them up herself…_ "Who knows how to ride?"

Karai's arm shot up. "Okay, you get one. Oh no, that one's mine," Kennedy said when Karai approached the black hunk of a bike. It was the biggest one there. She stood next to the one beside it and Kennedy nodded. "Anyone else?"

"I've read how to online," surprisingly, this came from Donnie. Kennedy lifted a brow, then shrugged and motioned towards the bikes.

"Knock yourself out, dude. Not literally." She laughed at her own joke. Raphael stepped forward.

"I could probably learn quickly."

"Now that makes sense," said Kennedy. "Okay, move the right bar forward, go forward, move it back, you go back. The further you twist, the faster you go. To stop, twist the left handle bar forward. That's pretty much it." Raph laughed.

"Pfft, and I thought this would be difficult." He boarded the last, red bike.

"Okay, now everyone else, grab a buddy. Splinter, you're with me, Leo, go with Karai, Mikey, I don't care who you bunk with." Mikey sat on the extra seat on Raph's bike. Kennedy helped Splinter onto the back of her bike. Leo stood still.

"Why does he have to go with Karai?" Raph asked, suspiciously.

"Call me crazy, but I think he and his boo-boo leg would be safer with someone who has actually ridden a motorcycle before," Kennedy retorted. Donnie leaned back to look at Raph.

"She does have a point."

Leo limped towards Karai's bike. It was a high seat; he'd have to swing his leg over to the other side. Which would mean balancing on his bad leg…

"Oh for the love of Pete," Kennedy said and slipped off her bike. "Sit," she said to Leo. He obeyed. She helped him get his leg over the seat. "There," she huffed and mounted her bike. Karai turned and handed Leo a helmet.

"Thanks," he whispered and slipped it on. Karai nodded in acknowledgement.

"Let's move. But before we go…" Kennedy closed her eyes and breathed. "Yep, we've got time. Hey Nutmeg, got anything burnable on you?" Karai nodded like it was a perfectly normal question. She shifted her position to remove her belt, her thigh brushed against Leo's. Her position caused her to slightly lean against his plastron. Leo tried to ignore his racing heart and sweating palms. She handed her belt to Kennedy and returned to her previous stance. Kennedy tore the belt in half and de-mounted her bike. She threw one half into the shack. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a lighter. She set the end of the belt on fire, and once it was charred, stomped on it and killed the flame. She then pulled out a grenade-looking object out of a pocket. It was black and red, an oval shape. She mounted her bike.

"Everyone hold on to your buddy," she said. Leo hesitantly wrapped his arms around Karai's midsection, very loosely, so not to upset her.

"You may want to hold on tighter than that, Leo. I don't want you flying off thisss bike when it getsssss moving." Leo had to process her voice at first; he was still out of it from holding her as tight as he was. He tightened his grip so that his arms actually touched her stomach, and his plastron was against her back. Karai didn't say anything, so Leo asked:

"How's this?" his voice betrayed him when he spoke, tripping and cracking over the words.

"Fine," she replied. She sounded annoyed. Leo wondered if he should ask what was wrong. Kennedy threw the grenade at her shack.

"Drive!" she shouted, and everyone obeyed. The engines roared to life as the motored away. They heard an explosion. Kennedy tossed the burnt belt back towards the shack once she was far enough. The buckle of the engine surprised Leo at first, it was faster than he expected. He had held Karai like she was his lifeline for the first few blocks, and was about to loosen his grip, when the bike hit a speed bump. He held her tighter.

"Why did you explode your house?!" Mikey shouted to Kennedy over the roar of the bikes.

"I had info on the mutagen in there, in my old school binders. If the Kraang found it, it would be disastrous. I had to get rid of them, and since the Shredder knows that location, I had to burn any evidence that I was there. Karai too," she said and flicked her head at Karai.

"Oh, that's why you burnt her belt," Donnie said loudly. "You wanted Shredder to think she got caught in the fire." Kennedy nodded.

"He'll figure out that she's alive eventually, but it's a nice distraction. Besides, I have another house. And it's much nicer. So, is there anyone else on your guys' side that I should be concerned about?" I took Leo a minute to realise Kennedy was talking to him. He lifted his head from Karai's shoulder. It felt abnormally bobbly with the helmet on.

"Casey Jones and April O'Neal." Leo felt Karai's body twitch when he mentioned Casey Jones. Was it a bump in the road?

"Okay then, that's where we go first. Lead the way," she commanded. Donnie pulled ahead of Kennedy and they raced towards their allies.


	3. Chapter 3

TMNT The Glasses of Life

Chapter Three

"What is this?!" Oroko Saki bellowed as he stood before the burning shack his foot bot had lead him to as the location of Karai and Splinter. The inferno was still fresh, its colours neon orange and yellow, and still scorching. His second in command, Tigerclaw, took in the mess.

"Hm, it seems the bot has a bug, Master Shredder." Saki shook his head.

"It can't be. I saw the footage. Karai was here, fighting the bots."

"Master, I'm afraid…" Bradford approached the Shredder with the burnt part of Karai's belt. Shredder cradled it in his hands. All of this searching… all of his struggles to bring his child back, and now… Saki let out an anguished roar and fell to his knees.

"It cannot be… search the perimeter. Maybe she wandered out…" Shredder rose. He had already lost Tang Shien. And the woman he met after her, his one key to partial happiness, with all of those children… Shitoni Yuki was her name. She was beautiful, as were her children, all five of them. Three boys, two girls. And then they had made the sixth. A girl. A beautiful baby girl. She had the purest blue eyes, an intoxicating laugh, a dazzling smile, blossom pink lips, even at birth. She had grown into luscious brown hair, like her mother. Her face, her body, all of that was a stunning image of Yuki. But the way her eyes would ignite with determination at a new challenge, and the way she would raise her fist when she triumphed at the challenge, her passion and strength, she got that from Shredder. The beauty of Yuki, the strength of Saki. A creative combo of both their names, they had named their beautiful daughter Kiki. Saki and Yuki had four more children but none as stunning as Kiki. They were going to make their family the most famous martial arts family known to Japan. Shredder was going to introduce Kiki and the others to his child, Karai, when he had arrived at his burnt house. The charred carcases of his wife and children were sickening. Karai had cried. She was five years old, Kiki's age at the time. He had searched the entire house for Kiki's body but he never found it.

The Hamato family did this to him, for what happened to Yoshi. They murdered his wife, his children… Karai was all he had then. And now she was gone too.

"Master!" Xever called from behind the flaming shack. Shredder approached with his sad excuses for henchmen at his side. "Look," said the fish. Shredder followed his disgusting bony finger. Black tire tracks. Like the type a motorcycle would make. And there were four sets of tracks. "That's enough to carry Karai plus three," Xever observed.

"Don't forget how ever many extra seats the bikes had," Bradford said.

"Master, take a look," said Tigerclaw. He held a half burnt picture in his fingers. Shredder took it. It was blurred, but he could make out what Tigerclaw had seen.

"Karai," he whispered. Sure enough, a blur of speed in the picture, was his now, snake child Karai. She was with another girl Shredder didn't recognise. She was much too blurry to make out. But that didn't matter, all that mattered was, he'd been set up. Karai was not dead, he knew it. Whoever this girl was, this must have been her miserable excuse for a house. She must have burnt it down in hopes of smuggling Karai away from him. _Clever girl… Kiki would have been able to spot something like that…_ her brains, she had gotten all of the good aspects of his and Yuki's minds as well… Shredder shook his head. This was no time to think about that! Kiki was gone, burnt to a crisp, never coming back. But Karai was out there somewhere with this mysterious and smart girl, and he had to find her.

"Prepare my army," he demanded. He would get his daughter back, one way or another.

Kennedy's head was a throbbing mess. She hadn't had a migraine this agonising since... _Don't think about it. Too much unnecessary stress_. Yes her parents were good to her, so she was told, and she got along with her siblings exceptionally well, but- her head throbbed and she teared up. _This is why we don't think about it_ , Kennedy scolded herself. Leo had told her that April and the hockey barbarian were told to wait as lookout near Shredder's dojo. Kenn personally thought that was a stupid idea, but considering Leo's current feelings towards her, she decided not to bother him about it. They had ditched the bikes in an alley for a stealthier approach. Kennedy, unfortunately, had been forced to burn the bikes too, or risk being discovered.

"Hey Kennedy?" Mikey was keeping pace with her behind Donnie. She had Raph helping Splinter with Leo and Karai in front of them.

"Hm?"

"Are you gonna help us fight the Shredder?" Kennedy shrugged.

"I don't see why not. Looks like you boys could use some extra fists and/or feet," she said and grinned. "Besides, I can't just leave Nutmeg and pops to fight their doom bringer all alone." Mikey nodded. Wow she was beautiful. She had blue eyes, like him, but they weren't just blue. No, they were azure with silver splashes and a hint of emerald. Literally, a calming lake. Kennedy reminded Mikey of a frozen lake. She didn't seem like anything but a beautiful sight on the outside, but underneath the unapproachable beauty, laid a unique and undiscovered realm of treasures and adventure.

"Why do you call Splinter _pops_?" he asked. Kennedy shrugged again.

"Can't exactly call him _ma_." Mikey laughed.

"Over there!" Donnie whispered and pointed to a dumpster beside Shredders dojo. "They're behind there." Kennedy looked both ways. No Shredder to her right, no Shredder to her left.

"Wait here," she whispered, and bravely walked out from behind the ash. Casual, like this was a normal city and she was out for a stroll. Almost to the dumpster. And then the voice returned. _Do not leave, turn around, turn around. Death is coming!_ Kennedy stopped walking.

"Kenn-!" Karai didn't have time to finish her cry for help. The aluminum bat knocked her unconscious. Kennedy focused her mutant brain. _Next to Nutmeg, next to Nutmeg_ , she chanted in her head. She felt that buzz in the back of her skull right before she teleported. She opened her eyes. Karai's limp body was at her feet. The thug who hit her moved in slow motion to hit her again. Kennedy landed eight spiral kicks onto his chest before he registered the pain. Then he flew into the brick wall, and was soon lying in a pool of red. There were five other thugs. Hired muscle from the Shredder: Kennedy recognised the symbol on their sleeves. She focused her brain and levitated a car, hurling it towards them. The panicking brutes jumped out of the way and stared in horror at Kennedy. She snarled.

"If any of you _touch_ her, I will fuck you up _way_ worse than brains boy over there!" she motioned at the thug with the tenderised head. One thug whimpered. Kennedy levitated the car again and crushed it with the squeeze of her fist. "Get out of my sight!" she roared. The worthless brutes fled. Kennedy turned to Karai. The gauze was soaked with red. She knelt beside her friend and unwrapped the gauze. Karai's temple was a bloody mess. Kennedy ignored the horrified shrieks and said: "Donnie, go get April and Casey." She pressed her palm against Karai's temple. _Heal_ , she thought, _heal. Heal, heal, heal._ One minute passed. _Heal_. Two minutes. _Heal, heal, heal_. Three minutes. _Heal, heal_.

"Uhmm… Kenn?" Kennedy sighed in relief. Karai's eyes were wonky; one was half open while the other was wide.

"Hang in there kid, you'll be fine in a few minutes…" all jaws but Karai's dropped. _Heal, heal_.

"I know," she croaked. _Heal, heal, heal. Heal. Heal_. Kennedy's palm touched flesh. She opened her eyes. The injury was reduced to a scar. Karai sat up and tested her eyes. She looked to her right. To her left. Up, down. She rolled her neck.

"Good?" asked Kennedy.

"Good," confirmed Karai.

"Good," Kennedy said and pulled Karai to her feet.

"Um, am I the only one who's confused?" Mikey asked, though he sounded half asleep.

"For once, no," said Raph. Donnie stood behind them with April and Casey, all mouths formed an "O" shape. Splinter looked like he had just seen the weirdest dream he'd dreamt in his life. _Seems legit_. Leo was staring, confusion danced across his eyes, as it should.

"I thought you said you only had super prediction?" he accused. Kennedy lifted a brow.

"You're complaining?" she taunted. Leo's eyes went wide and he waved his hand in front of him, as if trying to erase his words.

"No, no, no! I'm not complaining at all! But, I- I thought-!" Kennedy laughed.

"Chillax dude, I was joking." Kennedy ignored his grumble of _jokes are supposed to be funny_ and continued. "And I said including but not limited to, super prediction."

"You knew about this?" Raph accused Leo. He nodded.

"Had to get him to trust me one way or another," Kennedy chimed. "And oh boy he is one tough nut to crack." Raph looked at Kennedy.

"What else can you do?" he wasn't demanding, he was curious. Kennedy shrugged her nonchalant shrug.

"Levitation, super prediction, teleportation, focus heal, siren's song and emotional readings. Though I'm still working on that last one… could probably do more if I wanted." She leaned against the ash. "But there's another day for that. As you may or may not have figured out, I have April's power, but modified and perfected. And it's kinda my fault that I'm like this. Had to test the modifications one way or another…"

"You… modified mutagen?" Donnie rasped.

"Yep."

"And then gave yourself these wicked awesome powers?" Mikey added.

"Yep."

"You're a mutant…" Raph said. Kennedy smiled.

"Uh-huh. And a pretty deadly one too. Once the Kraang get the info they want from me, they'll probably kill me. Which is why I burnt all of my notes on mutagen in my shack as well." All eyes were on Kennedy, attentive, interested, and one pair, suspicious.

"So, you have a healing touch?" asked the suspicious pair of eyes. Kennedy shook her head.

"No, I have healing thoughts." Leo lifted a brow. "See, I mutated my brain. It already possessed a healing ability for our spirits, but the mutation enabled me to transform that healing aura into some kind of, miraculous focus heal. I focus my mind on the physical injury, and through time, transfer the healing aura from my brain, down my arm to the palm of my hand. So it looks like a healing touch, but it's my brain doing all of the work, my hand is just the escape hatch. It doesn't necessarily have to be my hand though, could be any part of me so long as the aura can get to the injury." She saw realisation ignite in Leo's eyes. _Good, now he'll let me stick around despite the snark_. "Yes I could use it on your leg," she began. "But bones take a lot longer to heal then mere flesh wounds. It could take me hours, days even. With the modified bone strengthener I offered you earlier, it would heal and become stronger in 45 minutes tops. However, in the 45 minutes it takes to heal it… I'm not gonna lie, it would hurt like hell without it even being touched and become super easy to break even more." She shrugged. "I'd counter that with the modified number. It numbs the area of pain and makes your skin… do you have skin or scales? Whatever, it makes it really soft." Kennedy explained like it was a scripted speech that she wrote and rehearsed over and over again. _Death is coming!_ The voice chanted. _Death is coming! Death is coming!_ "Crud," Kennedy said just before a growl erupted into the air, and a blur charged at Splinter. Kennedy drew the symbol for power in the air and punched the blur. It flew backwards a good 20 feet but landed on its feet.

"You will need much more than skin softener when we're done with you," growled the feline. Kennedy glared at him. He would pay for… _oh my God_.

"Tyler?!" Kennedy exclaimed. The mutant tiger stood up straight, but he was too far away for Kennedy to see his face.

"Kenny?!" Tigerclaw responded, equally as shocked. Kennedy laughed and smiled, casually approaching him while everyone else stared in shock.

"No freaking way! You're in New York now too?!" Tigerclaw actually smiled back.

"Yes. Unfortunately, it looks as though we've chosen different sides," he said, motioning towards the turtles. Kennedy did not look back at them.

"Yeah, unfortunately," she mimicked and flicked her chin towards the alley beside Tigerclaw. Rahzar and Fishface stepped out. "Hey, it's just like old sparing times. Except one of us is actually going to die this time." That idea made Tigerclaw's skin crawl. Kenny was on Splinter's side now, she was the enemy, but he didn't want to kill her. She was still that sparky little miracle pupil that he and Cliff had grown to love, he couldn't kill her… and yet, she did not seem the least bit worried about killing him. _That's because Kenny has always been in it for herself_ , Tigerclaw thought. He was loyal to his true Sensei, Hamato Cliff, but Shredder had rescued him from the streets. However, he would never be forgiven if he slaughtered Cliff's little Kenny. Tigerclaw watched Kenny back up then turn and jog back to the turtles, turn and get into a fighting stance. She had always been better than him, even though he was several years her senior. He slipped into a stance of his own. Rahzar and Fishface did so as well. The turtles readied themselves. Karai stood beside Kenny and slipped into a similar stance to her. Splinter readied himself. They charged.

Tigerclaw tried to avoid fighting Kenny. He went for the nerdy weakling turtle and the human male. The female with the red hair stayed back to care for Splinter. Kenny fought Xever with the red masked turtle. The orange turtle fought Bradford with Karai and Leonardo. He noticed Leo's sluggish posture and limping. Master Shredder must have really messed up his leg. He made a pained expression and fell to one knee. Karai rushed to his side and helped him up. Three to seven in a fight hardly seemed fair, Shredder had anticipated that. _The signal! I must give the signal!_ Tigerclaw leaped backwards from his opponents and pulled out the flare gun. He fired. Foot bots crawled out of the alleys, the burnt houses, the sewers. Kenny seemed to know what was coming before it even happened, Tigerclaw observed, because as soon as he took out the flare gun, she rushed to aid Splinter and the red head.

 _Ambush!_ The voice screamed. _Ambush! Ambush!_ Kennedy had seen Tigerclaw reach for the flare gun. There was an alley right next to Splinter. She kicked Fishface back and sprinted towards him.

"Foot ambush!" she screamed. "Foot ambush! **Foot bot ambush!** " she ran so fast her lungs enflamed and she was sweating when she reached Splinter and April. "April, foot ambush!" she yelled before Tigerclaw… _Sensei never liked calling him that_ , before Tyler fired the flare gun. Foot bots squirmed free from the alley. Kennedy threw a shuriken at the one behind April. April sliced it with her tessen. Kennedy let her mind go on auto piolet to fight the bots, easier that way. _Fight without thinking_ , the voice said, _fight without thinking_.

Saki watched her from his dojo roof. Amazing… she was everything Karai had been and more, handling the bots like they were child's play, barely breaking a sweat. The foot bots that were meant for Splinter were all destroyed. The girl, the girl Karai had been with in the picture, ran towards Leonardo and Karai. Leo was not a very useful fighter in his condition, weakly slashing at bots that were too fast for him. Those upgrades to the bots were really paying off. They circled around him and kicked, punched, one slashed his neck. He screamed and collapsed. Shredder grinned wickedly. _Foolish turtle, thinking you could just ignore your pain… that is a lesson I learned the hard way._

The mysterious girl pushed her arms to her side like she was walking through a crowded hallway, and his bot circle was disassembled faster than he could see. The girl knelt beside the bleeding, thrashing turtle and said something to Karai, who nodded and flew into a combat frenzy as her snake mutation.

The girl pressed her palm to Leo's neck and closed her eyes. Minutes passed and she removed her hand. The wound was gone.

"Impossible…" whispered Shredder. It was as if she had a healing touch… the girl pulled Leo to his feet and helped him fight the rest of the bots. So that was why Karai was with this girl, she was useful. And very powerful. The way she fought, she reminded Shredder of… but that couldn't be, he was dead… like Kiki… the girl noticed him. Their eyes locked. The roof beneath Shredder's feet began to crumble. He leapt from his perch. He landed near Bradford and the orange turtle, who was kicking some serious ass. Shredder advanced and slashed him across the face. He wailed and Shredder punched his stomach, over and over and over, he kicked his gut and the orange turtle flew into the burnt brick wall of a house. He was not moving. The girl was next to him. Shredder hadn't seen her move.

"Mikey!" all three of his brothers shouted. The girl pressed her palm to his cheek and closed her eyes. Raphael's fist met Shredder's face. He stumbled backwards, only to be hit by Donatello. He pushed them both back. The girl moved her hand off Mikey's healed cheek and pressed it against his neck. _So, she's a healer…_ the girl glared at several approaching foot bots and they all sparked and fell to the ground. She turned her attention back to Mikey. _And a killer._

Shredder noticed that Tigerclaw had no opponent to fight. He was not attacking the girl, just staring at her. He would need to fix that. Raphael charged at Shredder. He extended his claws and stabbed him in the gut. Raph screamed, catching the girl's attention. She mouthed something Shredder couldn't identify. Donatello jabbed his bo-staff at Shredder. He evaded it and sucker punched Donatello in the jaw. There was a sickening crack and Donnie collapsed.

Kennedy had seen and heard it all. One more slash to heal then she would be there. Mikey would have to cover her. She felt rather than saw Tyler's presence. He was not far, maybe two, three feet from her. His sword was raised.

"Do it," Kennedy dared him without looking up. _Heal, heal_. "Do it and see how Sensei likes you after. I bet he'll be _thrilled_ , Tyler. Don't you?" she knew Tyler would never swing the blade.

"Cliff is gone-"

"Is he, Tyler?" Kennedy knew he was sensitive to that name. His real name. Mikey stirred.

"Uhg…" he opened his eyes. "Kennedy…?" his voice quivered. She nodded.

"You're okay now, Mikey. We have to go to-" _Death is coming!_ Kennedy stood and side kicked the Shredder. He fell to one knee, winded. She turned and kicked his face as hard as she could. Blood sprayed from his nose and mouth. "You got blood on my boots," she complained and helped Mikey to his feet. The slash hurt Tigerclaw more than Kennedy. There were three red claw marks on her cheek. She did not scream or fall, or even blink. Kennedy grabbed the Shredder's arm as he slashed and, after murmuring "Strength of a mountain," crushed his arm, armour and all, in between her hands. He roared in agony.

"Kenny!" Tigerclaw could not hide his concern. Kennedy lifted a brow at him and pressed her palm to her cheek. "I… I'm sorry Kenny. But, he-"

"It's alright Tyler, I get it, you're afraid of him. Rightfully so, in my opinion." Tigerclaw nodded vigorously. The blood stopped leaking from Kennedy's wound. "But would Sensei approve?" he looked at the ground. Kennedy touched his paw and he looked at her eyes. Her hand was off her cheek, which looked like it had never been slashed. "Live on your knees, or die free." Tigerclaw gasped. Cliff had said the same thing before he died. Kenny removed her hand. Tyler clenched his fists and nodded.

"Die free," he and Kennedy said in unison. Kennedy blurred, and then she was next to Raphael, 10 feet away. Tyler looked at Mikey. "We are partners now," he stated. Mikey lifted a brow. "We don't have time to be suspicious," he scolded. "I must protect Kenny for my true master. And if that means betraying him…" he glanced at Shredder, who was cursing at his crushed arm. "… so be it."

Kennedy just barely healed Donnie's jaw in time. It was bone, it took her 23 minutes. She only managed to heal him so quickly because she had some extra energy from being held back from fighting so long. Raphael and Donnie had joined Mikey and Tyler to fight the Shredder. She saluted them for their bravery. Now she fought by Karai and Leo, God knew they would need her healing mind a lot.

"It just doesn't make any sense…" she said to no one. "He shouldn't be that strong…" Shredder was proving himself a very worthy opponent for Kennedy. He had obviously anticipated an increase in the turtle strength, which would explain the upgraded bots, but he himself was freakishly strong. She had seen him punch the pavement when aiming for Tyler, and his fist left a crater sized dent. As if his fist was a speeding meteor. Splinter, April and Casey had joined the fight with the seemingly endless foot bots and Bradford and Xever.

Kennedy saw Shredder make a motion with his arms. A kanji. She recognised it, it meant speed. And then he blurred, hitting all four opponents with blinding agility. Kennedy's eyes widened and she gasped. _The power!_ She leapt into the air and focused her brain. Her feet did not touch the ground.

"Short circuit!" she yelled and pictured sparking foot bots. "Short circuit! Short circuit!" the remaining foot bots sparked and fell. Kennedy dropped too, slamming onto the pavement. "Ow! Uhg, okay…" she stood up. "Not my best landing," she announced and cracked her back. It made her dizzy.

"Kenn!" Karai was at her side instantly. She gripped Kennedy's arm and Kennedy smiled at her to show she was fine. "You're pushing your powerssss way past their boundariessss!" Kennedy shrugged.

"You got a better idea?" she dusted herself off.

"It'ssss going to kill you!" Kennedy laughed.

"Pfft, please Nutmeg, if I ever die, this will be the _last_ thing to do it." She glared at the Shredder when he made the symbol for power and stomped his foot, causing an earthquake-like effect. "Besides, I'm not the only power-house any more. My brand of unlimited strength is all we've got now."

"What do you mean?" asked Leo. All other faces asked the same question. Kennedy pointed at the Shredder.

"He's a mutant. He did what I did. Now he has the powers too." They watched Shredder make the symbol for endurance, then he barely felt the hits from Tyler and Raph's fists. He punched them both and they collapsed. Mikey and Donnie readied themselves.

"No," Splinter said. "I'm the one he wants. I need to-"

"Stall him. All of you, stall him. I have an idea," Kennedy said. All eyes were on her. Then Karai bowed her head at Kennedy. Kennedy returned the bow.

"I'd sssssstall Godzilla for you, Kenn," she hissed, then morphed to her snake form and slithered off. Kennedy crossed her heart when Karai slithered away. Splinter was next to bow. Kennedy knelt and dipped her head for him.

"You have saved me, my daughter, my sons, and countless innocent lives. If you were ever to die, you would die a true, honored hero."

"Well, my last name is Honors," Kennedy chimed and gave the thumbs up as Splinter ran after his daughter. April and Casey ran after him without a word to Kennedy. Leo was the only one left. Kennedy and he stared at each other. "I guess it isn't necessary for you to stall him if your leg is bugging you…" she looked back at the Shredder. "But my guess is he'd sure like to fight you again."

"I know he would," Leo spat. Kennedy breathed and sat cross-legged on the pavement.

"I'm using my last resort on him. This one takes a lot of energy, but it's deadly." Leo watched her and listened to her breathing. "… Siren's song," she said finally. "If there's one thing everyone knows about Shred-head, it's that he's hopelessly tone-deaf." She grunted as she breathed.

"I can stall," Leo lied, and limped forward, having to stop after three steps from the pain. Kennedy was next to him. She inhaled and, to Leo's confusion, she started to sing:

 _Break their hold,_

 _Cause I won't be controlled,_

 _They can't keep their chains on me,_

 _When the truth has set me free,_

 _This is how it feels when you take your life back,_

 _This is how it feels when you finally fight back,_

 _When life pushes me, I push harder,_

 _What doesn't kill me makes me stronger._

Leo felt the sudden urge to fight course through his veins. The pain in his leg throbbed dully, but all that mattered was fighting for his family now. Kennedy was panting, but she held his gaze. She nodded. Leo stood and, like a bow and arrow, soared into the battle with Shredder and his two loyal henchmen. He was back. Karai watched him fight. He was swift, strong, everything he was before the injury. Karai looked at Kennedy, who was still meditating.

"Thank-you," she breathed. Mikey screamed. Bradford had slashed his arm open. Like before, when they had rescued her. Karai leapt and kicked Bradford's bony chest. It hurt her foot, but he stumbled backwards. "Mikey!" she helped him up. He was shaking.

"It hurts…" he moaned. Karai took the hood from the sweater Kennedy had lent her and tore it off. She wrapped it around his arm. His hand hovered over the improvised bandage. "Th-thanks…" he took in a shaky breath. Karai nodded and gripped his shoulder.

"Come on, we have to keep fighting-" another scream. Karai turned to see Raph on one knee. His plastron was seeping with blood. Xever stood over him, leg raised… Karai slapped him with her tail, and morphed back to her human form. She took off Kenn's sweater and improvised a bandage for Raph, leaving her in an old green T-shirt Kenn had also leant her. Raph looked at her when she helped him sit. Mikey limped towards them, whimpering in pain. Donnie screamed. Karai shot a bloodshot glance at Bradford once again. He gripped Donnie's wrist. Donnie screamed again. Karai spat acid at Bradford's eyes but did not see Xever. His kick hit her jaw. She whipped him with her tail, ignoring the sting of his metal kick. She dove at Bradford like a bullet, and hit his head with hers. Bradford fell backwards and did not get up. Karai was wobbling side to side, seeing double, triple. She spotted Donnie and dragged him back to his brothers. She didn't have anything for his wrist. Words bounced around her brain, and eventually formed a sentence.

"Karai! Are you okay? How many fingers am I holding up?!" it was Mikey's voice. Karai groaned.

"You only have two…" she said, and fell backwards. She landed on a pair of arms.

"Oh good, she's okay!" Mikey cheered. She could feel everyone else roll their eyes.

"Karai?" she didn't recognise his voice at first, she still had to get used to how much deeper it was. She groaned and tried to open her eyes. His hand was against her cheek. She felt the side of her head touch his shoulder. She felt him sit, with her in his lap. Why did she hit Bradford with her head? How stupid could she get? Any other part of her and she _had_ to choose her head. "Relax… it's okay," he whispered. Karai groaned and opened her eyes enough to make out fuzzy blurs. Her head throbbed like a hammer was trying to nail her temples. The talking became distant… _No! Stay awake!_ Karai told herself, and forced her eyes open all the way. The light was like snakes, straight beams shooting at her and biting her eyes and head.

Leo watched her struggle to stay awake with sad eyes. Splinter had seen her dive at Bradford and commanded Leo to help her. She was trying so hard to be helpful, to protect her family… she made a sound like a groan. Leo brought her head against his collar bone and covered her revealed eye with his hand; she seemed to be pained by the light. "It's alright Karai," he whispered. "Just close your eyes…" He knew as well as anyone that if Kennedy didn't fire up her "idea" soon they'd all be dead. He rested his chin on her head. "Don't sleep, but… you can close your eyes…" one of her snake arms coiled around his wrist. She wasn't cutting of his circulation… he tightened his arm around her. There was nothing romantic about it. They were two scared kids holding onto each other for comfort. They were just, hurt, scared kids.

 _It's true, we're all a little insane…_

Everyone stopped moving. Kennedy was standing. She was standing! Her voice was hypnotising, a song you could not ignore, a beautiful show of a siren's song. _Knock 'em dead, Kenn_.

 _But it's so clear, now that I am unchained…_

Shredder was looking around frantically. Everyone could see the panic on his face. He was seeing something else, something… he _feared_.

 _Fear is only in our minds,_

 _Taking over all the time,_

 _Fear is only in our minds, but it's,_

 _Taking over all the time…_

Shredder screamed. He ran one way, stopped, pivoted and ran the other way, then stopped again. He looked around frantically again. He ran one way, stopped, ran another, stopped… it was a circle.

 _You poor, sweet, innocent thing,_

 _Dry your eyes, and testify,_

 _I know, you, live to break me,_

 _Don't deny, sweet sacrifice…_

Shredder screamed like an unearthly thing and fell to the ground; a shaking ball of a man. Kennedy was beside Tyler, panting and sweating. She sat down hard. "We… can't… stay… here…" she breathed. "My powers… barely worked… he'll find…" she crawled towards the boys and Karai. She held Karai's arm. "Hold onto… a… buddy…" Donnie held Leo's shoulder, April linked arms with Donnie, Casey held April's hand, Raph touched Casey's shoulder, Mikey gripped Raph's arm, Splinter wrapped an arm around Mikey, Tyler touched Splinter's shoulder and Kennedy took Tyler's other hand. "Dock," she said to herself. "Dock, dock, dock." She breathed. "Dock." The world around them blurred, and they were at a boat yard when they opened their eyes. Kennedy was panting heavily. "Get… Lion-main…" she sputtered to Tyler. He nodded and moments later, pulled up to the dock with a small motor boat. The title: _The Lion's Main_ was printed on the side.

"Everyone, on board," he said. Splinter stumbled towards the boat, held up his hand, and was pulled onto the boat. April and Casey helped Kennedy over to the boat, and lifted her aboard. Leo carried Karai and Tyler pulled them both on board. Mikey winced as they helped him on to the boat.

"Why are we on a boat… Kenn?" Mikey sobbed. It was not a surprise that the pain had pushed him to tears. Kennedy opened an eye and eyed her sweater hood. She removed it and pressed her palm against his arm.

"Never liked that sweater anyway…" she croaked. "We're going… my house… over the lake…" she closed her eyes. "No more words," she whispered. She removed her palm. Mikey's arm was healed. He stopped crying so heavily. The boat pulled away from the dock with everyone on board. Minutes passed before Kenn crawled to Raphael and healed his gash. And then she passed out for 30 minutes. It went on like that until there were no injuries left to heal, just worried faces and bloodshot eyes to comfort. Kennedy had made lunch for everyone. It seemed odd, she didn't even know their favourite colours and she was making them lunch on her guardian, Trinity's, boat. She had been living with Trinity since the death of her Sensei. The woman liked to travel, so, Kennedy was free to do what she pleased most of the time. Not that she was one to take advantage of the situation. Kennedy had been on her own most of her life, with the rare burden to care for until it died. Like that house plant a neighbour you don't like asked you to look after while they're on their vacation.

"So… where are we going exactly?" asked Karai. She was quieter than normal. Kennedy wondered if her head was fully healed.

"My other house. The one on the lake I was telling you about. You know how I want to be an interior designer?" Karai nodded slowly. "Well, I designed this house. Top to bottom. Trinity gave me the money."

"What are we going to do about the Shredder?" Leo asked the question on everyone's mind. Kennedy shook her head.

"I don't know. He'll be screwed in the head for a couple of days with that hallucination, but… well, at least he doesn't know where my lake house is." The rest of the ride was dead silent. There were two plush red wall couches on the boats lounge area. Mikey, Raph, Casey, April and Donnie were occupying one. Splinter, Leo and Karai, the other. Kennedy sat next to Leo and sighed. Shredder was much, much stronger now that he had those mutant powers. Kennedy grabbed a pillow on the side of the couch, curled up and closed her eyes. She had lost a lot of energy from healing everyone and using her psychic powers, she had to regain it.


	4. Chapter 4

TMNT The Glasses of Life

Chapter Four

It took the group almost the rest of the day to reach Kennedy's lake house. The boat ran out of gas while on the water, so they were forced to swim the rest of the way. Under normal circumstances, it was not a far swim, but considering their conditions… it felt like a lot longer than two hours. Mikey nearly drowned a few times. He was up front with Kennedy now. Leo got tangled up in a seaweed garden and was almost pulled under. Lucky Karai's fangs could easily bite through the tough weed. They swam and swam until they were sure they were lost.

"When are we going to get to your house?" Raph complained from further back.

"When you stop asking," Kennedy retorted. The lake was cold for a summer night, the turtles were starting to look more blue than green, and now that Kennedy thought about it, so was Karai. Kennedy was starting to feel the chill nip at her toes and fingers as well. She looked around at the scenery to take her mind off the chill. Though uncomfortable, the view was beautiful. She had always liked lakes, whether she was swimming in them, painting them, or designing houses near them, they made nice backgrounds.

"H-hey," Mikey chattered. "W-what's th-that?" he pointed a shaking finger at a large shadow further back in the forest. Kennedy nodded to herself.

"I think we just found my house," Kennedy said, and swam towards the shadow.

"It's about time!" Raph spat. It was Kennedy's lake house. The group swam past the bouquet of lily pads towards the red roofed shelter. It was the biggest house most of them had ever seen. It had a deck that was half its size and a hot tub floating in the lake patch near the house. They crawled out of the murky water looking like swamp monsters.

"F-follow me," Kennedy chattered and stalked up the steps of the deck. The others followed her. She stuck her hand under the door mat and pulled out a key.

"Y-you didn't take the key… with you?" Karai asked. Kennedy shrugged her nonchalant shrug.

"Why would I? This place is in the middle of butt-fuck nowhere." That shut every one up as Kennedy unlocked the door. They entered the living room. Pretty decent if Kennedy did say so herself. She had stuck to neutral shades, mostly, with the occasional burgundy or teal on the pillows and curtains. White walls, hardwood floors with a nice burgundy mat in between the two couches, a table on the mat, shelves surrounding the room. And a fire place. Kennedy rushed to it and immediately flicked the on switch. All nine bodies huddled around the warmth while Kennedy scavenged the house for blankets. She found some spare ones in her bedroom closet and dragged them out to her shivering allies. She draped one over Casey, Donnie and April, one over Splinter, Mikey and Raph, one over Leo and Karai, and one for Tyler and herself. They sat in front of the flames for a long time. During that time, Kennedy could not get over the fact that she'd let the hockey barbarian into her house. She saw April's head on his shoulder. Donnie had moved to Splinter and Raph's blanket. _Good, I'm not the only one who hates him…_ she refused to think about kindergarten, refused to think about what he had done.

"…I cannot stay, Kenny. I must leave, to protect you, and your friends," whispered Tyler. Kennedy did not look at him. She knew he would say that, and she knew he was right. If he stayed, it would make it easier for Shredder to destroy his enemies, easier for him to kill her now that she'd made an enemy of him.

"You can for one night. You can stay until you're not blue, okay?" she watched Tyler ponder. He nodded.

"Fine. One night, I leave tomorrow."

"Midnight. No earlier." Technically it was tomorrow, but Kenn didn't feel like arguing about it.

"Midnight," Tyler agreed.

After a five hour nap in a huddle in front of the fireplace, Kennedy had forced herself to wake up and prepare some brunch. She could feel her stomach groping itself for notorious and judging by the uproar of everyone else's gut, they were getting hungry too. Kennedy's lake house kitchen was very retro. It wasn't exactly a gourmet chef's kitchen, but she hadn't budgeted for one. It was decent compared to the one at her old shack, at least she could fit a four chair table in this one.

Kennedy carried a plate of pancakes to the table, placing it in front of the sliced bananas, strawberries and raspberries and beside the plate of bacon. She would set up the BLT station on her counter when she cleaned the dirty dishes off of it. Kennedy's impression brunch was always a lot of hard work, laboring over the stove, but it always tasted delicious when complete. And now she could actually make the full amount she had written in her recipe due to the extra nine mouths to feed. Her brunch consisted of pancakes, freshly chopped fruit and veggies, BLT's, trail mix, garlic bread, buns and butter, cheese platter, two heart-shaped pizzas (those were always fun), a plate of mochi, a plate of macaroons, and a strawberry pastry cake. It was above and beyond, but then again, so was Kennedy. She exited the kitchen and shook Tyler's shoulder. He snorted and yawned.

"Kenny?" he asked groggily.

"Help me wake everyone up," she commanded softly. She and Tyler aroused their allies and moved them onto both couches, the bed-couch, as Kennedy called it, was reserved for Splinter and herself, possibly Tyler unless he took the floor, as he usually did. "Okay guys," she knew they were only half listening. "I made some brunch for us," that got the attention of every eye in the room. "Now, I will warn you all to take it easy on the food, it's been a long time since our last meal, you eat too much, you're cleaning up your own vomit, capishe?" the heads bobbed. Kennedy took that as a nod. "Okay, does anyone have any food allergies in here?" Donnie raised his hand. "Peanuts?" he nodded. "Lucky I anticipated that, everything's peanut free." He put his arm down again. "Okay, without further ado, dig in," Kennedy murmured with about as much enthusiasm as a trip to the ER would bring.

It didn't take long for both pizzas to be devoured, without care of what crumbs may fall where. _Mikey sure does love his pizza_ , Kennedy though as he tackled Tyler for the last piece. She had raised his arm with the pizza slice and said: _one, two, three! Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner!_ That had gotten a laugh out of most and a suspended chuckle from Leo. The next to go was the mochi. Kenn only made it because it was Karai's favourite dessert, but she had not known that Tyler and Splinter shared a fondness for the treat. Not to mention her mildly creepy obsession with the dessert. One disappearance led to another, and by three o'clock, all plates and bowls were empty and being washed by Kennedy, Karai and Tyler. The others were occupying the couches, flipping through channels on Kennedy's big screen TV. They had to be instructed on how to use the remote, an enter button was futuristic to the turtles.

When they were done, Kennedy, Karai and Tyler joined the others. Karai sat next to Splinter, and Kennedy and Tyler sat on the rug closest to the TV. They weren't into the whole, dog-pile their friends had going on. Apparently neither was Leo or his bad leg, because after about 30 minutes, he wrestled his way off the couch and tried to sit next to Kennedy.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa dude, sitting on a hardwood floor with a broken leg? I don't think so," said Kennedy. Karai knew what she was going to say, and got off of the spot beside Splinter. Kennedy lifted a brow. "I was just gonna ask you to scooch over, but that works too." She lead Leo over to Splinter and tried to make him sit.

"I'm fine, Kennedy, will you quit babying me already? Karai, it's okay, you don't have to move," he said gently.

"Kennedy's right Leo, it's not good for your leg. Until she gets a chance to heal it, you've got to be extra careful with it." Karai was not used to being spoken to so softly, it almost scared her. Leo shook his head.

"Still, you don't have to move, it's fine-"

"Oh my Gaskubaffa, will you two just-?" Kennedy pushed Leo onto Karai's spot and sat Karai beside him. "There, sharing is caring, remember. Do not make me come back over here," she warned playfully and plopped next to Tigerclaw again. Karai and Leo sat stiffly while Kennedy shuffled through the channels.

"…So… how did you and Kennedy meet?" Karai was slow to take his attempt to break the ice.

"We… well, we were both fleeing from the Kraang… and Shredder…" she shuddered. "She saved me from the bots. Healed me up and gave me shelter for the night. I guess she felt bad for me or something… one thing lead to another and, before we knew it, we were best friends." Karai hugged her knees to her chest and rested her chin on her arm. "We like a lot of the same things," she said. Leo turned himself towards her as best he could.

"Like what?" Karai didn't answer. "I-I mean… we're family now," Karai flinched at the word. "But, well, we know so little about each other." Leo waited for her to show a sign that she'd heard him. She nodded slightly. Leo looked away. "… Sorry, if you don't want to talk, I'll leave you alone." Karai lifted her head and looked at him.

"It's alright. Look, any other day I would but… it's kinda been a long day…" Leo nodded.

"Yeah." Both turned their attention to the cartoon Kennedy had selected. _Looney Tunes_ , Karai recalled. It was the barber episode with Elmer and Bugs singing and the random chase scenes. The only episode Karai had seen before. Several episodes later, it was 9:00pm and everyone was exhausted.

"Okay, I officially cannot stay awake any longer," Kennedy announced. Everyone else nodded.

"I'm so tired, I could sleep on a bed of Shredder's helmets," Mikey mumbled.

"Well you're in luck, because that's what the guest beds are," Kennedy teased, however she had to explain the joke to a very confused Mikey. "Okay, I have five bedrooms in this house, however one is used as an office. Luckily I have a couch-bed in their…" she glanced at the crowd. "… Donnie I think you'd like it, follow me." She'd meant for only Donnie to follow her, but everyone else did. Well, all except Casey and Splinter, who had passed out on both couches hours ago. Kennedy opened the office's door. It was a splitting image of Donatello. Purple walls and blinds, shelves and books as far as the eye could see, a very organised desk, and a small purple bean bag behind the desk. There was a purple and white stripped couch with two pillows against the far wall.

"And, that's not all," Kennedy said, and approached the couch. She lifted the cousin and it extended. A pull-out couch. Donnie was out before she could find the blankets to cover him. Kennedy lifted a brow and smiled. "You know, he's kinda cute when he's exhausted," she said, oblivious to April's _stay away from him_ glare behind her. She turned and closed the door softly behind her.

"Raph, Mikey, there's a double room bedroom here that I think suits you two perfectly. Follow me." Once again, Kennedy led the group down the hall a bit and opened another door. It revealed a very bright yellow room with a couch, a bed, a table, a rocking chair and a mini flat screen TV on the wall across from the start of the bed. Mikey's jaw dropped. "I was going to make it a media room, but I didn't have any black paint," Kennedy said. Mikey jumped onto the bed and nuzzled into the pillow. He was snoring softly. Kennedy crept to a door in the room. She opened it and motioned for the rest to follow her. There was a closet that connected the two rooms. Raph's room was a bit on the girly side, but it was red and the bed was comfy, so, he didn't complain.

Kennedy, Karai, Leo and April crept out and moved on to a room Kennedy said she would let April use. Leo was eyeing her the entire time. He still didn't trust her, but he had to admit, she was a girl of many resources. A gigantic lake house? A kunoichi? A former sue chef? A genius? An artist? _What can't you do?_ "Now I know the room is a tad small, but bear with me here."

"Kennedy, I am so past small bedrooms. As long as the bed is an actual bed, your work is done," April said. Kennedy smiled.

"Thank God," she said and opened the door. A multi coloured bed and pillows, a shelf next to the bed, and a small bed stand with a lamp beside the bed. It wasn't Buckingham palace, but April seemed content. Kennedy softly closed the door and looked at Leo. "Your turn, blue."

"My _name's_ Leonardo," he said with an edge of annoyance. Kennedy shrugged.

"And Karai's name is Karai, but I still call her Nutmeg, don't I?" she motioned for the duo to follow her back down the hall. She approached a door she'd passed earlier. "Welcome, friend," she said. Leo entered. The room was rather bland, the walls were beige and the tile was a dull peach hue. Bright blue pillows, curtains and a folded blanket on the edge of the bed was all that stood out. However, the room was fairly big. He took another step in. Karai watched him limp towards the bed. She saw Kennedy glance at her, and looked away. "I can probably heal your leg tomorrow at some point," Kennedy offered. Leo looked up at her, then made a small smile and shook his head.

"Thanks Kennedy, but, I kind of want to let it heal naturally." Karai lifted a brow. Really? Even after all she's done, he still didn't trust her? Karai would have said something, but Kennedy cut her off before she got the chance.

"Okay dude. I just want to end your suffering, make it easier for you to… beat the Shredder, you know?"

"The easy way out is never the answer," Leo said, and averted his eyes from her. Kennedy shrugged her nonchalant shrug.

"Whatever dude." She and Karai left him and retreated to the room they would share. The entire theme of the room was blue. Deep, deep blue walls, blue beds, blue shelves, blue lamps. "That one's yours," Kennedy pointed to a rather princess-y looking bed to her right. Karai climbed into the bed and let its warmth abduct her into the world of her dreams. Kennedy watched and smiled. Her thoughts floated around in her brain. Memories of her mother and father pushing her on the swings at the park, of Sensei Cliff and Tyler watching her progress as she beat on the punching bag they had, of the cruise rid to Canada with Trinity, of the coach bus drive to New York, to her admirable mark of 98% in writer's craft back in grade 10. Writers craft was a grade 12 class. She still remembered how the first chapter of her story went, the story she'd earned a 92% on.

 _I was 11 years old the first time I cried. It was for a good solid reason, not because of a sad ending to a movie, or a dead cat on the street, or some bastard saw fit to call my mom a rat blower._

 _Angle and I were stalking down the streets of our gloomy little town when we saw it._

" _Aw, c'mon, Gare, you were totally checking her out!" she teased. Angle was 15 years old, four years my senior, but my age at heart. My father thought her a cougar when I first introduced them to each other. But she was nothing of the sort, Angle was… well, an angle. Her real name was Bridgett, Bridgett Lotus Campbell. She had earned the nickname Angle back in elementary school. She'd been the only one to never get on our bitchy principles bad side._

" _Nah, her rack was no angle," I retorted with a wink. Angle blushed and punched my arm._

" _This is why your dad thinks we're fucking," she said. I laughed and shoved her. She was never much of a girly-girl, and we had gotten into our fair share of fist fights. She'd win most. I won two._

" _Hey, it's not my fault you're so hot you make Heatran's beg for mercy." It was a Pokémon reference that only Angle could find sweet. She was as much of a geek as I was, maybe even more. She rolled her eyes and shoved me back._

" _Go screw," she said, defeated, and looked at the alley she was closest to. I wiggled my eyebrows._

" _Your place or mine, babe?" I was only flirting, she knew that. We knew we were too far apart in age for each other, but that didn't mean we couldn't play around. Besides, Angle liked someone else, some Goth boy in her English class named Lucifer. I always teased her about the irony. Angle instantly froze. I stopped and looked at her. She was scared, I knew that look anywhere. That was the look she had right before my dad hit her across the face for calling me a sexy bitch. I personally thought the name was funny. We had been playing Castle Crashers and I had selected an avatar she'd seen as "hot". Also, I was a bitch at Castle Crashers; hence sexy bitch. "Bridge?"_

" _Oh my God," she replied. My jaw dropped. Angle said a lot of things that a normal Christion would never say, but "Oh my God" was not one of them. She pointed a shaky finger at a lumpy shadow and said: "Gary, l-look." I looked and instantly felt my insides twist. My bowels turned to water. My limbs to jelly, the gross kind your decent-cooking-impaired granny makes and insists that you try. The lumpy shadow… the thing in the alley… it wasn't an it. It was a person!_

" _Sweet baby Jesus," I murmured. Angle was breathing like a rabbit face to face with a bear. I stepped closer to the body. Slowly, ever so carefully, as if my mother's own life depended on it._

" _Careful, Gare-bear!" Angle whispered urgently from behind me. Normally I'd swing at her for the stupid reference to SpongeBob's pet snail, but this was more important. It was at this moment when I really wished my mother was with me, she'd be giving me a supportive shove, telling me, no fear, courage, you can do it. I can do it, I told myself. There was nothing to be afraid of, it was dead, it couldn't hurt me… there were no such things as zombies. Except for that small apocalypse in the Boonies back in 2013. But that was over and done with now… hopefully. I gulped. "Oh God, Gary," Angle whimpered from behind. I didn't know why she was so afraid until I saw her. Not Angle, my mother. Her bashed, bruised, bloody and broken body lay abandoned in front of my feet. I blinked. I rubbed my eyes. I shook my head. She was still there._

" _Mom…?" I said, as if she could hear me. As if my voice would stir her. As if the love of her only son could bring her back to life, like the pussy movies, like the sob stories Angle and most others always cried at, like… "Mom!" I said again, louder this time. No movement. "Mom!" nothing. I felt the fear like it was heat, and I was in the center of the sun. "Mom!" I tried to run to her, but Angle stopped me, holding my torso firmly._

" _Gary no! She's gone, man, I'm sorry…" I struggled._

" _No, no, no! Mom! Mom!" I felt something build up in my chest. It was an un-ignorable feeling. Like a balloon was being blown up in both of my lungs and it was pushing out all of the air with it. Like an unearthly thing, I howled: "MOM!" and that was when the tears came. It was uncomfortable, awkward, sobbing when just seconds ago, I was joking and playing around with my best friend. I had never cried before. It was the worst feeling, screaming and staining salt water on Angles hoody while she smoothed my hair and tried to sooth me…_

"Kenny?" Kennedy opened her eyes. Tyler was peeking through her doorway. She got up and walked to him, closing the door behind her. "It's 12:01am, Kenny." Kennedy's eyes widened. Had she been day dreaming that long?

"Holy balls," she whispered. Tyler chuckled and placed a paw on her shoulder.

"I wish you the best of luck. Make Sensei proud, like we always knew you would."

"Don't get all sappy on me now, Ty, this isn't the last time we'll see each other, don't treat this goodbye like a funeral to our friendship," Kennedy said, and hugged him. She had never been a hugger, in fact, Kennedy hated giving and receiving hugs, but, something about this moment made it seem like the only option. Tyler, after a moment's hesitation, hugged her back. It was short, but it was a worth-while hug. The released each other.

"Take care of yourself," Tigerclaw said. It seemed appropriate to call him his warrior name now. He was his own clan, his own man now. Kennedy nodded.

"And if you get hurt, don't hesitate to come back here." Tigerclaw nodded, turned, and left. Kennedy heard the door close and she walked back into her room, keeping her face neutral.

"Kenn? What's going on?" asked a groggy Karai. Kennedy didn't look at her friend, just sat back on her bed and shrugged.

"Nothing of your concern. Go back to sleep." Karai didn't argue.


	5. Chapter 5

TMNT The Glasses of Life

Chapter Five

The morning was eventful to say the least. First Kenn had to search through her closet to find an outfit small enough to fit Karai. She was one size smaller than Kennedy, and Kenn had a thing for wearing clothes two sizes too big. Finally, she found an old grey and red Komodo she'd worn once to her Sensei's 167th birthday. She had been 11. It fit Karai perfectly. Kennedy was a little worried about Karai's weight, 110 was hardly enough, but she decided to push it aside. She herself slipped into a traditional Japanese shirt, capris and a green housecoat. She retrieved a pair of fuzzy socks and slipped them on, with her zebra stripped slippers not far behind. She found some flats for Karai.

There was some confusion over what had happened to Tigerclaw, which Kennedy was sucked into clearing up.

"It's too early for this," she grumbled. Only after her lengthy explanation did Kennedy discover that she had to pee in the worst way. "I'll be back," she said and began to walk abruptly away.

"Where are you going?" asked Mikey. Karai was silently asking the same question. Being left alone in a room full of boys in a Komodo that was basically falling off of her had its way of making her a little uncomfortable. She was finding regret in lying to Kennedy and saying the Komodo fit her perfectly.

"To the bathroom," Kennedy replied. _Well_ , Karai thought, _that's the end of that._

"Why?" jeered Casey from behind Splinter. Kennedy rolled her eyes.

"To jump into my toilet portal and be transported to Narnia. I have to pee, why else, Numbnuts?" the others laughed. Casey crossed his arms and glared ice at Kennedy. She returned the glare and walked away. Kenn had told Karai about hers and Casey's… interesting past, but never what he had done to make her so angry. She decided that answer was best left alone.

"Good morning," said a voice. Karai smiled and turned to him.

"Good morning, father," she replied. Splinter smiled back.

"You look lovely today," he said. Karai's smile widened. Shredder had never told her that.

"Thank you," she pulled up the shoulder of the Komodo. "It's Kenns. She lent it to me. She's had it since she was 11 years old." Splinter's eyes widened. He and Karai stood still and silent for many minutes until he finally replied:

"11? My goodness, she must have been a very… um… mature-bodied pupil." Karai could tell he was avoiding using the word "big", which she appreciated. Even though Kennedy was the skinniest person Karai had ever laid eyes on. How Kennedy could eat so much and stay that skinny was a worldwide wonder to her.

"Not really, she's just a twig, and I envy you for that," said Kennedy from behind. Karai turned to her and waved. The one person skinnier than Kennedy was Karai herself.

"Back from Narnia?" Kennedy laughed. So did the turtles and April. Casey said a very rude word, which Kennedy brushed off, and retorted with:

"Oh and Gollum forgot to leave the seat down." It took Karai a minute to understand what Kennedy was trying to say, then she laughed, to everyone else's confusion. "What?" Kennedy commanded.

"Gollum is from Lord of the Rings, Kenn." Kennedy raised her index finger and opened her mouth like she was about to argue, but stopped herself, looked down and muttered:

"Oh." Karai held back laughter with all her might. Kennedy blushed and stamped her foot. "I knew that!" she fumed playfully. Karai put her hands on her hips and smiled her cunning smile.

"Sure you did." Donnie watched in astonishment. Up until this moment, he was certain Kennedy could replace April as his crush. But alas, she was not a Lord of the Rings follower. He and his brothers were all fans of the series. Donnie loved the books, Mikey loved the show, Raph loved the fight scenes, and Leo loved the fanfics. Mostly because he wrote them, but Donnie had sworn not to tell anyone that Leo wrote fan fictions. He thought it was geeky and un-cool, and he though everyone else would think so too.

But, at least Karai was a fan… or, if not, at least she knew Gollum. Then again, who didn't?

"I am going to make food now," Kennedy announced and stomped into the kitchen. Donnie laughed and rolled his eyes. _Right, Kennedy_. He looked at Karai. The Komodo looked nice on her, although it was very baggy. She pulled the shoulder of it back up, as if to emphasise Donnie's thought. He wondered if Kennedy had lent it to her. Yeah, probably, he had never thought of Karai as a Komodo girl, she seemed to be content with a tank top and yoga pants if he had to guess. Yeah, not one for fancy dresses or fashion. Donnie watched Karai push her bangs out of her face as she spoke to Splinter. Would she be one for headbands like April? No, probably not, she always had bangs in her face. Donnie wondered how she could fight like that.

"Dude," Mikey said beside him. Donnie looked at him. "She knows Lord of the Rings! This is awesome!"

"Just because she knows who Gollum is doesn't mean she knows the book, Mikey," Donnie said.

"Or the show!" he reminded Donnie. Donnie sighed.

"Or the show," he confirmed. The book was much too long for Mikey to even think about reading.

"Well, I'm gonna go ask her!" he said, and bounded off before Donnie could grab him.

"Oh boy, now you've done it, genius," spat Raph from behind. Donnie turned to him. Leo and April were beside him. Casey saw fit to shift through the channels of Kennedy's TV while paying no attention to the rest of them. "He's totally gonna embarrass us with that blabber mouth of his." Donnie could tell Raph didn't sleep very well last night.

"You care?" Leo said, shrugging. "Bound to happen eventually." He was only calm because his fanfic secret was safe, and Donnie envied him for it.

"Guys, it's not that bad, he's just trying to get to know her, he's not going to throw you under the bus," reassured April.

"Not on purpose, anyway," added Leo.

"Then why did you try to keep your Lord of the Rings obsession from us?" Raph asked April. She blushed and stuttered:

"U-uh, w-well… I uh… I thought,"

"Exactly, it's geeky and embarrassing."

"Hah! I was right!" said a triumphant Mikey as he bounced back to them. Donnie and the others lifted a brow.

"Huh?"

"She does like Lord of the Rings! She said she's read the series and seen the show!" Donnie's jaw dropped in unison with the others'.

"Really?" he asked, astonished. Mikey nodded furiously.

"Uh huh! But she said the books were better." Donnie looked towards Karai. She was looking at him. He wasn't sure how to react when she nodded and smiled at him. He stood there for a while, mouth a-gape, until he found the strength to nod back and offer a shy grin back at her. She looked like she was about to walk towards them, maybe actually socialise for a bit, but,

"Aw shi… taki mushrooms! Karai, I need your assistance!" was heard from the kitchen. Karai looked at where the voice came from, turn to Donnie and gave an apologetic smile, then scurried towards Kennedy. Donnie was so out of it he almost didn't hear Mikey when he said:

"Oh she also said something else about it. I don't know what it is, but she said she reads… fanfics about it or something."

"Fanfic is short for fan fiction," Donnie supplied so no one would see the quiet panic that set on Leo's features. He regained his poker face quickly.

"Oh. Well, she says there's one kind that she reads all the time. I think she said they're on an online reading website-"

"Wattpad," Leo whispered. Everyone stared at him. "That must have been the website she meant, all sorts of fanfics on Wattpad."

"How do you know?" asked Raph. Leo shrugged: he was very good at staying calm under pressure, a quality Donnie wished he could learn.

"I read fanfics on there too," he stated simply. "Some are really good." Donnie could tell, by the slight smile tugging at his lips, the quiet sparkle in his eyes, and the too-casual crossed arms, that Leo was referring to his own stories. He'd never let Donnie read any of his stories, and he never told him his screen name on Wattpad, so Donnie was never able to look him up.

"He's right," said Karai from behind them. Everyone jumped at her voice, having no warning of her return. She stood next to Donnie and said: "There is this one author on Wattpad that's really, really talented. He knows his fandoms." Donnie wondered when she'd gotten back. What did Kennedy need her help with?

"Who?" asked Mikey. Donnie saw Leo's eyes ask the same question. _How ironic would it be if she meant him?_ Karai smiled at Mikey. Was this the first time she'd talked about Lord of the Rings with anyone?

"Well, his screen name is _SaphireNightOwl_ ," Donnie watched Leo's eyes widen and his mouth press into a tight line, then he morphed back to his poker face. "But everyone just calls him "Sabey" for short. You know, when they leave comments." Mikey nodded, he appeared honestly interested. Raphael was staring at Karai; probably still suspecting something from her that his sleep deprived brain was teasing him about. Leo had backed out of the circle a bit, but he was still in the conversation. Karai turned to him. "Have you read any of his stories?" Leo didn't show panic on his face, but Donnie knew how to read his body language. Fiddling with his mask tails, putting his weight on one leg, more so than usual, swaying slightly, yep, he was nervous.

"Yeah, some," he replied casually. "He's pretty good." Shorter sentences, another nervous habit of Leo's.

"Breakfast!" sang Kennedy from the kitchen. Karai went to her, as if she were hypnotised into running to aid Kennedy when she would say "breakfast". Although, she had said it like: BREAAAKFAAASSSSTTT! Karai and Kennedy walked out of the kitchen with two trays, one in either arm, three cups on Kennedy's trays, and two on Karai's. They put the trays on the glass table in between the couches. On the trays were glass cups, filled with yogurt and fruits. "Can I trust you teenagers to eat out here without spilling the food?" Kennedy joked. Everyone laughed and said yes. The cups weren't very big, but Kennedy had managed to, once again, fill them up with it.

"Hey Kenn?" Kennedy glanced up from her food.

"Yeah Mikey?"

"Where did you learn to cook?"

"Eh, nowhere, really. I just kinda learned. I was the sue chef at Big Tony's for-"

"YOU WHAT?" cried Mikey, Donnie, Raph, Leo, April and Casey in unison. Kennedy smiled.

"I was the sue chef at Big Tony's. You know, up until the stupid invasion." She shrugged and took another spoonful of yogurt. Big Tony's was New York City's equivalent to Canada's Tim Hortons. "Hmm, well, I'm bored. What do you guys usually do for fun? I could use a good dose of fun right about now." Kennedy collected the cups and placed them on one of the trays.

"Well," began Mikey. "Sometimes we play turtle hunt." Kennedy lifted a brow, then snapped her fingers.

"Oh, like man hunt?" Mikey lifted his brow and cocked his head to the right.

"Man _**what**_?" Kennedy laughed.

"Anything else?" Mikey put a finger to his chin.

"Well, we play video games. Do you like video games?" his eyes sparkled. Kennedy grinned.

"What self-respecting geek doesn't? What games do you guys like?" at that point, Mikey was basically bouncing up and down from excitement.

"Brawl and Melee are awesome!" Kennedy knew what he meant, and she loved those games.

"Have you played the new Smash Bros yet?"

"No but I hear it's awesome!"

"It is! You can make your own fighter with your mii!" Mikey's eyes widened.

"Sweet!" Kennedy nodded, then realised she was fangirling over a video game, and pulled herself together.

"What about the rest of you?" there were some looks exchanged.

"Well, I like quizzical games, like Jeopardy," said Donnie.

"I mostly play RP video games, like Legend of Zelda or Mario Bros," Leo said.

"I play most video games, but Castle Crashers and Mortal Combat are my top two favourites," mumbled Raph.

"I never played a lot of video games, only when the guys asked," admitted April. Kennedy didn't look at Casey, but said:

"Ah. Well then, none of you said my favourite video game. I'm a karaoke gal, although I do love Smash and Jeopardy. Castle Crashers is aright too…" Kennedy froze, feeling a sudden presence in the back of her mind. She closed her eyes… _death has awoken_ , said her brain. _Death has awoken_. "Shred-head's up and at 'em again," she grumbled. Confused and worried eyes stared at her. "I guess we'll have to game later."

"Agreed," said Splinter. He stood abruptly. "But we cannot fight him in this condition… he has your powers." Kennedy nodded.

"The good news is, that makes him a target for the Kraang as well, the bad news is, he most likely can use his powers just as well as I can…" she turned and looked out a window. "… Maybe even better than me." She was looking at something out the window that wasn't there. "I'm going to have to teach you how to defend your brains. Mental strength, that's what we'll need." Kennedy turned and looked at each turtle in the eyes. Then she looked at April, Casey, Karai, and finally, Splinter. She breathed. "… I'll teach you all how to defend against my powers, but in order to do that, I need to know how you all tick." They watched her as she spoke. "What you like, what you dislike, what your strengths are, what your weaknesses are, what you're good at, bad at, the whole works." She was slurring the more she spoke. "I can spend some time with each of you guys to help me work out a form of mental strength training that will work for you." She stretched and yawned. "… Tomorrow. Let's try to chillax as much as possible before we have to get too stressed out."

The burning house was rippling, the fire melting, the screams fading, his nightmare was nearly over. Oruko Saki opened his eyes. He was in his room, in his dojo. How long had he been out? It didn't matter. It had happened. The girl who had taken Karai had the power. _His_ power. The power the Kraang had sold to him, in exchange for his knowledge. And his resources. He was to experiment with the mutagen, find out what made it tick, find out how to turn it into something other than perfect. Saki sat up. And she was just as practiced with it as him. But she was young, over confident, too weak to use the power to its full potential. He was a grown man, an adult, he could destroy her at her own secret weapon, and then destroy his enemies while they staggered around, weak from their loss. And then he would have his daughter back. Everything would be alright. His head suddenly shrieked, and he grasped his temples. Something was reaching out to him. _Hegg… oohhh…. Ooddd… eye… ould…_ he took a deep breath and focused. _All… oh good… rie… ooo sould…_ he relaxed his muscles and exhaled. _Speak_ , he commanded.

 _All in all, you're no good,_

 _You don't cry like you should,_

 _We'll be gone when you fall,_

 _Your sad life says it all._

 _We won't let you be the death of us. We're coming for you, and we're taking back our home, our lives and ourselves. I hope you've written out your will._

Shredder gasped and pulled his mind out of the clutch of her message. How had she known to send him to that nightmarish day when his wife and child… children burned in the house? When the Kraang had given him the power, they had specifically stated that it did not enable mind reading. Super prediction was more accurate. Could she predict something so accurate? Impossible, that would make her better than him. She couldn't be; she was just a stupid girl; a nobody his child was using because of her God-like skill. She probably didn't even know how deadly she was… Shredder shook his head. How big a fool was he? Of course she knew! Why else would she have stuck around to help fight? Why else would she have been so arrogant to trap him in a Siren's song? How did she manage to actually hold him in that song as long as she did? What kind of monster was she?

Shredder paused, put a finger to his chin, and thought. She fought like a veteran, she thought like a genius, she focused like a psychic, and she befriended his child. The Kraang powers explained the psychic part, and, he supposed her old nickname, Kennedy the genius, explained her thinking part. He'd found some of her old classmates and gathered information on her from them. Perhaps she had a vision problem of some sort so she didn't see mutants? Was she legally blind? No, her class mates, Sam and Miles, had told him she was far-sighted, not blind. She had glasses on when he fought her. Perhaps she had that sensitivity Cliff had informed him of? Hamato Cliff, the only Hamato that had been decent to him after the death of Yoshi. He assumed it was the elder's Alzheimer's that had kept his hostility at bay. Perhaps this: "Kennedy the genius" mutant had acquired this compassion ability and therefore, accepted Karai's form?

Speaking of form, hers was impeccable, skilled, masterful. Much like the form of Cliff, now that he thought about it. Her kicks directed at the lower belly, as Cliffs often did, her punches aimed for the face and neck, as Cliff always said, and her bodily resourcefulness, as well timed and straight-forward as Cliffs had been before his death. Shredder had returned to Japan briefly to attended his funeral. It had seemed right. The minister was a younger girl, Shredder recalled. She had said a few words, told many funny stories, and sang some uplifting songs. She'd had a nice voice.

"So," Shredder said at last. "Our genius was trained by Hamato Cliff. His best pupil." The girl at the funeral had introduced herself as Cliff's God-daughter, and his best student. She had freckles, glasses, and brown braided hair. Like the genius. She had a snarky confidence to her stride, even at the death of her master, a walk the Shredder recalled all too well. "That would explain her strength."

"Who's strength, Master?" Bradford asked tentatively. Shredder looked at his dog servant and grinned wickedly.

"Never mind that. The genius' class mates have told me all I need to know. That girl is going to be trouble on the turtles side, but deadly on ours. See to it that she is… _recruited_ as soon as possible." He stood and left his room.

"What about her classmates?" Shredder turned and snickered.

"Dump them. It will be so nice for the genius to have some friends to work with while she's here." He snickered. "Besides, we need to test the modifications Baxter made to the mutagen."


	6. Chapter 6

TMNT The Glasses of Life

Chapter 6

Kennedy and Mikey sat on the couch in Mikey's room, after two hours of training. She'd made him ignore her levitation on him and fight with no break for 45 minutes.

"Exhaustion fuels the mind, I find," she'd said, and knocked him down. After the spar, she'd asked him about his feelings. He'd thought the exhaustion had gone a little too far into her head. "I'm just telling you to act how you feel, Mikey, in order to deal with my power; one must be honest with himself." She'd looked him in the eye then. "Shredder." The mention of him made Mikey frown and growl. Kennedy gave a sympathetic smile, "Me too," she said. Mikey sighed and looked down.

"… I wish he'd leave us alone. We didn't do anything to him… not before he attacked us anyway. If he left us alone, we'd leave him alone." His fists were clenched, and his gut twisted into knots of hatred, an emotion Mikey commonly tried to avoid. He felt something touch his hand. He raised his eyes.

"You wish he'd leave you alone? You sure that's the story you wanna go with?" he lifted a brow.

"Yeah," he said, though it sounded like a question. Kennedy shook her head.

"Did I not just tell you to act how you feel?" Mikey blinked, but said nothing. "It's okay to hate someone Mikey, if they deserve it. It's okay to be angry, to wish someone dead, even. It's okay to not be happy." Mikey shook his head as he processed her words.

"… I," he began. "I'm not sure I remember how to be mad," he said and shrugged. Kennedy smiled.

"I can fix that. If there's one thing I know how to do, it's get under peoples skin. True Blue is walking proof of that," she said, staring at the door as if she expected Leo to barge in and shout: _my name is Leo!_

"Why don't you ever call him 'Leo'?" Kennedy shrugged and giggled.

"Meh, sometimes you've gotta create your own entertainment." Mikey lifted a brow, still saying nothing. "Okay," Kennedy said, and took out her I-Phone and scrolled down her playlist. "Tell me how these songs make you feel. What they make you want or not want."

"And this is training…?" he asked sceptically. Kennedy shrugged.

"Nah, not really, I just wanted to show you my music."

"Okay," Mikey said, trying to sound like he felt, what did he feel? He had no idea. A song began.

 _Carve this pain into my heart,_

 _Screams ripped from my throat,_

 _The rye will not protect the souls,_

 _Of those I wish to boat…_

He looked at Kennedy with a lifted brow.

"I don't know this song." Kennedy smiled at him like he was an idiot and she pitied him.

"Well duh, it's not out yet." He lifted a brow.

"Then how do you have it?" she scoffed.

"What part of **my** music didn't you understand?" Mikey gapped at her.

 _The stallion carries them away,_

 _To safety and warm embraces,_

 _But when the world spins only in grey,_

 _The scum of age encases,_

"You wrote this?" Kennedy nodded.

"Yep, and sung it too," she supplied. Mikey nodded.

"Kinda makes me want to sing along, but at the same time, I don't 'cause I don't want to mess it up." Kennedy nodded and grinned.

They sat in silence until the next song played. "Ah, a Lindsey Stirling song, featuring Lzzy Hale from Halestorm," Kennedy was somewhere else when she said it. Mikey sat quietly and listened to the music box tune and lyrics:

 _I pirouette in the dark,_

 _I see the stars through a mirror,_

 _Tired mechanical heart,_

 _Beats till the song disappears…_

He listened intently as the chorus grew more intense, and then the violin crash of dubstep and musical stories filled his brain. He hung onto every lyric the song sang, like a lifeline. The tune and beat and tempo made him want to not only listen, but savour. Like this song was the last piece of pizza he'd ever eat.

"Wow," was all he could whisper. Kennedy smiled.

"My life in a nut shell." The next song played. Mikey could not identify the lyrics until the chorus played. He still didn't know the song, and he wished Kennedy would play a different song.

' _Cause I'm the fucking king of the world, get on your knees_

 _I'm the fucking king of the world, do as I please,_

 _So get up or get out and I'll show you, what it takes for me to control you…_

"Uh…"

"Intense, I know, but hey, Porcelain is an intense girl."

"Porcelain?"

"That's the singer's name. This is Porcelain and the Tramps."

"Ah." The song was over. Kennedy hit pause on her IPhone and turned to Mikey.

"Now, how did those songs make you feel?" he grinned.

"Jealous that I hadn't heard of those bands before."

"Not that great," responded Donnie. Kennedy nodded, understandable. She wouldn't like it much if Casey and April started kissing in front of her either but that was for a whole other reason entirely. They were sitting in her office after a two hour spar, which mostly consisted of her using his weapon against him. And better than him.

"I'd assume not. Now…" she put a finger to her chin. "Let's say that was happening and… um… oh! In your lab, Mikey or someone was about to press a button that would cause a self-destruct. What would you do?" Donnie lifted a brow.

"Stop Mikey, obviously."

" _Try_ to stop him," Kennedy corrected him. "Knowing you, you may be just stand there, shouting _"Mikey nooo!"_ only to have him not hear you because… you know, _that_." Kennedy made a disgusted face and gestured towards Casey and April outside of the room, flirting with each other. Donnie and Kenn couldn't see them but they could hear them. Kennedy rolled her eyes as they flirted back and forth. "Could they have **chosen** a worse place to do that?" she asked the celling. Donnie was staring at her when she looked back at him. She put her head on the table between them and rubbed her temples as Casey said a very bad pick-up line. "Just fucking kill me…" she murmured.

"You know, until I met you, I never thought anyone could find Casey more annoying than I do," Donnie said. He watched her raise her head and shrug.

"I guess annoying is a nicer way to put it."

"I mean, I don't hate him… he's just annoying. Like Mikey."

"Yeah but Mikey's cute," she said with a hint of venom. Donnie blinked in disbelief. Did she say what he thought she said? Did she just call Mikey _cute_? "Cave-mouth is just stupid." She huffed and crossed her arms when April giggled at Casey's sad attempt at a complement. "Big difference. **Big**."

"Did you just call Mikey cute?" the question was out before he realised it. Donnie clamped his hand over his mouth. Kennedy lifted a brow and pursed her lips.

"Well he is," she said. Donnie gave her a look like a regular human would give him.

"Really?" Kennedy laughed. She had a different sounding laugh. It was one, loud noise, followed by three claps and giggles.

"Well, you all are, in your own way. Mikey is just all around cute. You're geeky cute, like me," she added a wink. "Raph is that kind of feisty cute. Like a flaming kitten. Leo is what I like to call, a-dork-able. If you've seen him around girls he likes," she coughed and Donnie thought he heard her sputter Karai's name through hacking. "He just turns into a total dork and it is adorable and sad at the same time. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry." She scoffed out a giggle and smiled. "Anyways, how long have you liked April?" Donnie blushed and looked down, hoping Casey and April were too busy flirting to hear them.

"Uh… is-is this for training?" Kennedy shook her head.

"Nah, just my own curiosity."

"Uh… for almost one year now." Kennedy whistled.

"Wow. I'll be damned if she doesn't know." Donnie squirmed in his chair and looked over his shoulder.

"I think she does. I-I make it pretty obvious some days…"

"You think?" Donnie looked up at her. Kennedy shifted and professionally placed her arms in front of her. "I can't say I know how you feel, I haven't had very many crushes, and the few that I did have went pretty well, but none of them were that intense. You and I are like Live While We're Young vs Creep when it comes to crushes." Donnie cocked his head to the left and lifted a brow.

"Huh?"

"They're songs. You know, Live While We're Young, One Direction, Creep, The Pretenders?" Donnie put a finger to his chin. He knew 1D, everyone did, but he'd never heard of The Pretenders. Kennedy shook her head and sighed. "Well, The Pretenders aren't a very popular band these days, but they're amazing. Especially that song. Come to think…" she gave Donnie the elevator eyes before continuing. "If I didn't know better, I'd think they wrote the song about you." Donnie said nothing. Kennedy rose. "Did you see the piano in the living room?" Donnie nodded. "I can play the song for you out there if you want." Donnie cautiously got to his feet.

"Y-you're not gonna trap me in a Siren's Song, are you?" Kennedy made a sound like a laugh.

"Honey I don't have to, you're _living_ the Siren's Song." He nodded and followed Kenn out to the piano, passing a shocked April and Casey as they strode. Donnie kept his eye on the ground. The last thing he needed was a conflict with April and Casey at this moment. They entered the room. Karai, Splinter and Leo were there. Kennedy greeted them and moved towards the grand piano near the fire place. She patted the bench. "Come sit," she said. Donnie obeyed, trying to ignore the three pairs of eyes glued to him. Kennedy began playing a unison of cords. It replayed for a bit before she sang:

 _You were here before,_

 _Couldn't look you in the eye,_

 _You're just like an angle,_

 _Your skin makes me cry,_

Donnie listened intently to the lyrics. The music, like the river out back behind the house, flowed through his brain, whispering a new familiar tune to his heart.

 _You float like a feather,_

 _In a beautiful world,_

 _You're so fucking special,_

 _I wish I was special…_

Donnie found himself visualising he and April as Kennedy sang. He hadn't meant to, but he did. He saw her when she had torn him down after the accidental mutation of her father, yelling, angry. _I never want to see your faces again!_ Kennedy turned the page on her book.

 _But I'm a creep,_

 _I'm a weirdo,_

 _What the hell am I doing here?_

 _I don't belong here…_

"… Donnie? Hey man, you okay?" Donnie looked at Kennedy. Why had she stopped playing? "Dude…" her voice died before she could finish her sentence. Donnie breathed and his breath hitched in his throat. He felt himself shake. Was… was he…? He wiped his face. Yep, he was.

"For the last time Raph, I didn't say anything to him. I was just singing." Kennedy had been saying that a lot that day, especially to April.

Kennedy clung to a blue stuffed bear she'd had since she was a child. She felt a bit uncertain after Donnie's break down. All she'd done was sing, yes it was an emotional song but had it really been necessary for him to cry that loud? She'd been putting up with ' _what the hell did you do to him?!'_ and ' _how could you do that to him?!'_ ever since.

"Then why did he break like that?" Raphael demanded. Kennedy cuddled her bear and rolled her eyes.

"The same reason I told you before, it was an emotional song. I guess I over-estimated his ability to keep his emotions together. At least until he's out of ear shot." Raphael shook his head.

"Not everyone is made of stone." Kennedy glared at him.

"Did those words _ever_ leave my mouth? Because I don't remember… Uhg, never mind. Not worth it," she said, shaking her head. There was a time and place for verbal fights and this was not it. Raph had other ideas.

"Oh, I'm not worth it to you?" Kennedy hardened her glare.

"Yeah because that's _exactly_ what I said." She rolled her eyes and held her bear closer to her. "If you boys weren't worth it to me, I wouldn't have helped you fight that psychopath. And I wouldn't have wasted my energy healing you when I could have been fighting. So unless you have a way to replace my miracle focus heal with a similar action to save me or someone I love, you owe me, so I'd back-the-fuck-off if I were you." Raph said nothing. He couldn't think of a smart enough comeback or a strong enough apology, so, he said nothing.

Strangely enough, he wasn't angry. Not anymore, anyway. Kennedy was right; she'd done the impossible and saved them all from fatal wounds in seconds flat. She'd cared for their father and saved their sister from the streets.

Raph eyed the stuffed bear she held. It was missing an eye and an arm. The stuffing had been replaced and the missing arm had been sewed up so not to spill anymore stuffing. It was saggy in some areas, over stuffed in others. There was a brown-ish stain on its belly. "… It's been a long day, Raphael, and it's not even 8:30 yet. We spent most of the session arguing about Donnie… I guess that puts us behind. I hate being behind." Raph still wasn't sure if he should speak. Kennedy hugged her ratty bear closer to her and sighed. "I'll see you tomorrow. I need some peace before my time with True Blue…" Raph nodded and left her room.

"What is this again?" Leo had asked that for the fourth time now and the movie wasn't even half way through. Kennedy sighed and hugged her bear closer to her. She hadn't summoned up the courage to leave her room without it.

"Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs." After about an hour, Leo's leg refused to stay strong, so, she'd wrapped an electric blanket around it and made him sit down while she picked out a film. She wasn't in the mood to laugh, but forced a smile at the funny parts anyway. It was excessively fake, she knew so, and Leo did too, but it felt wrong not to try. Even if she wasn't really trying.

Flint Lockwood had been tackled by Earl before nabbing a nip from his sky burger. Kennedy forced a laugh. It made her head hurt. She was angry, without a cause, and that was the worst kind of rage to feel. She had never wanted to punch something until it bled more than this moment. However, she got angry like this a lot, and it passed eventually. She hugged her bear close to her. Trying to have a good time while seething with blind rage had its way of making her ache.

"Um… Kennedy?"

"What?" she snapped. Leo shifted and looked at the ground.

"Uh... are you… do you want to maybe… save the movie for tomorrow? You seem a little… pissed." He was twirling his thumbs and glancing up at her through the corner of his eyes. Kennedy sighed and sat up straight.

"No, I'm okay, thanks Blu… Leo," she said. It didn't seem right to call him by his colour at the moment. Leo tilted his head.

"Seriously, if you're tired or something it can wait… right?" Kennedy scoffed and looked blankly at the TV.

"I'm already behind with Raph, I'm not falling behind again. While we're having this nice little movie time, Shredder's running ramped in the city. We don't exactly have all year." She looked bitterly at the TV. Sam and Manny were watching the adorable cat video. Kennedy hugged her bear closer to her.

The movie took forever to end. Kennedy popped it out of the player and was about to stand to put it away when a weight on her leg froze her. Leo had fallen asleep, and apparently saw fit to use her leg as a pillow. She was about to wake him but something stopped her. He was at peace, something he couldn't afford to feel for months. What would it make her if she disturbed him? Leo's breathing was quiet, as that of a ninja should be. She watched his eyes dart back and forth under his lids.

She'd never seen anyone look so relaxed, she almost envied him. He made soft snores as he dreamt. Kennedy giggled. She saw what Karai meant when she'd called Leo an adorable sleeper. His mouth looked so much smaller when he slept, almost like he was a child. Innocence was plentiful on his features. Kennedy wondered what he was dreaming about. She placed her palms on both of his temples, gently, and focused. What began as blurry colours morphed into figures and shapes. She saw Leonardo in his dream. He was sitting in front of a TV. What was the show…? She heard a slapping sound and a familiar deep voice. Space Heroes? Her eyes widened and her brow was slanted.

Kennedy had gone through a Space Heroes phase herself; she still remembered most of the characters and episodes. The episode in Leo's dream was an old favourite. She couldn't remember what it was called, she just knew it was when Celestial and Captain Ryan kissed. She'd shipped them for the longest time. She had screamed and danced around her living room when she watched it for the first time. She knew what happened after the kiss, however; Celestial betrayed Ryan, and then she was disintegrated. Ryan kept her boots as a memory charm. Kennedy had thought that was sweet.

The dream changed. It blurred, then the TV became reality. Ryan turned green and spouted ninja gear, two katana and a blue bandana. Celestial's skin became a peachy white and her hair turned black with blond at the bottom. Her clothes consisted of a thin black body suit and several chunks of armour. Her lips were as red as cherries. They kissed, again and again.

"Kenn? Kennedy!?"

"Huh?" Kennedy snapped out of her trance and removed her hands from Leo's temples. She looked to her left, groggy as if she had just woken up.

"What were you doing?" looking between Karai, Leo and her bear, Kennedy carefully removed her leg from under Leo's head, stood and shrugged.

"I decided to watch a different movie."

Tigerclaw sprinted up the old forest path. How long had it been? Almost a week since he had left Kenny with the turtles. He hoped she was alright. Hoped Shredder hadn't discovered her. He didn't care and never would care about the others, as long as Kenny was happy and safe. Although, knowing Kenny, if they were discovered, she would be the first to die if any. She was not one to leave a team member or friend behind, no matter how much she hated them. That was how he and Kenny had become friends in the first place.

They were running a marathon for training with Cliff. She had always been a superb sprinter. Tigerclaw was more of a hitter. They were on the same team. He hadn't been the nicest to her beforehand. He was lagging behind, very far behind. She had jogged back and told him that if he didn't get his shit together and sprint, she'd go around telling everyone he was beat by a 10 year old girl. He'd wanted to snap her neck, but instead, he ran. And their team placed second, because Kennedy refused to leave him behind. She'd made the entire team wait for him. "How would you like it if you were him and no one was waiting for you?" she'd said. They had finished together. The day after in the hall of the dojo, he had thanked her, and she had smirked and said "No chick flick moments, Tyler." Oh how he missed her.

Sound!

Tigerclaw froze and waited. Another sound, like him when he ate too much of Kenny's… of Kennedy's cooking. It didn't feel right to call her by her childhood nickname anymore. More sound! Now Tigerclaw could tell it was groaning. Pain-filled groaning, as a matter of fact. He cautiously approached. A spot cloaked by the shadows looked abnormally lumpy. He drew his sword.

"Alright, come out," he demanded. A noise like a shriek was heard. Tigerclaw clenched his muscles in preparation, but nothing happened.

"Please don't hurt us! We're just lost!" a voice cried. Tigerclaw did not ease up, but stood firm, and lowered his voice to a growl.

"Come out of the shadows," he demanded. There was a sob and many choppy breaths before the next response came.

"We… we can't…"

"Come out!" Tigerclaw bellowed. The voice screamed like a chipmunk in a blender, then a beaten sob, and out crawled the owner of the voice, with something slung over his shoulders. Tigerclaw nearly dropped his blade. "Turtles?" he exclaimed. Sure enough, the voice belonged to a puny half human half turtle mutant. He had another on his shell. He was crying very openly. Tigerclaw thought the boy looked maybe 11 or 10, no older.

"Please… please don't hurt us! We'll go, we promise! We just wanna go home but… we don't know… we…" he was cut off by sobs. The boy collapsed and cried. Tigerclaw almost hugged him. It was difficult not to feel pity for him. Obviously scared, no idea what had happened to him or the other turtle he had on his back. Had Shredder had something to do with this? Tigerclaw watched the boy sob at his feet and sighed. He knelt in front of him. The boy looked up at him through his arms.

"Calm down. Keep quiet and follow me," Tigerclaw whispered, and stood and walked away. He looked back to see the little mutant lugging the other one on his back far behind Tigerclaw. He sighed and stopped walking. The little turtle caught up with him, huffing and still sniffling. Tigerclaw lifted the unconscious mutant and motioned for the crying one to follow him again. He did, and kept decent pace considering his condition. They retreated to a shack, far deeper into the forest than Kennedy's house, and far more run-down. They entered. Tigerclaw put the unconscious mutant on his torn and tattered couch.

"Wait here," he told the crying one, and retreated out back to his pump. He soaked a cloth, and returned to the couch where the younger turtle was crying for the other one to wake up. He stopped and sat with his head down when he saw Tigerclaw. "He your brother?" Tigerclaw asked as he placed the cloth on the unconscious turtle's forehead. The tiny one nodded and started to cry again. Tigerclaw rolled his eyes. Why did he have to meet the cry-baby kid?

Most every kid would be crying at this moment, Tigerclaw reminded himself. Including Kennedy, if she were still a kid. Then again, she'd have to be a _little_ , little kid. Like four or five years old. Kennedy had never been one for tears, even when she was little. A sniffle and sob from the kid interrupted his thoughts. Why couldn't this kid be like Kenny?

Tigerclaw knelt next to the kid. "He'll be fine. Just needs some rest and time to recover." _And one hell of a miracle._ "What's your name?" the child sniffled and wiped his eyes.

"I-I'm Sam." He looked at his brother. "A-and that's Miles." Tigerclaw nodded as un-irritably as he could.

"Okay."

"What's your name?"

"Who did this to you?" Sam looked at the floor and receded into himself.

"Um… a man and a dog." He was still shaking. Tigerclaw lifted a brow.

"A man and a dog?"

"Oh! And a fishy!" Sam added quickly, and then looked down again. Tigerclaw nodded again.

"Did the man call himself The Shredder?" Sam shook his head.

"He wouldn't tell me his name. He hit my brother then threw up into a big thing…" Sam made a motion with his hands that pretty much summed up a tank of mutagen and started to cry again. Tigerclaw moved the kids head up to look at his face and glared at him.

"Stop with the crying, kid. This is no time for that." Sam stopped sobbing, but the tears didn't stop falling. "Listen, the man who did this to you and your brother is called The Shredder. He is evil." Sam nodded and wiped his eyes. "The dog is called Bradford. Or Rahzar. Whichever you prefer. The fish is Xever, or Fishface. They are the foot clan. There soldiers are robots." Sam gasped.

"That's why when Miles hit one in the nuts it hurt his foot!" Tigerclaw made a face like he was smelling feces and sighed.

"Yes. The stuff they dropped you in is called mutagen. It has the power to mutate whatever comes in contact with it." He looked over Sam and added, "you're a mutant now. So is your brother." Sam nodded, wide-eyed, as if he didn't fully understand. "You can never go home," Tigerclaw added. "Never see your friends or parents again. Life is about surviving now, and you two will need my help." Sam stared at Tigerclaw as he spoke. "I will teach you how to defend yourself in case you meet Shredder again, but you must do everything I say. I saved you; you're in debt to me. You obey me, and no one else. Understood?" Sam nodded. "I want to hear you say it," Tigerclaw growled. Sure the kid was a cry-baby, but Tigerclaw needed more people on his side, more fighters. He would never survive a foot ambush on his own, he needed some pawns, at least. Sam sniffled and stood.

"I understand. I'll do what you say… um… what do I call you?" Tigerclaw stood and walked towards the door way. He stopped at the door, turned to Sam and said:

"Starting now," Sam sat on the couch next to his brother, still looking at Tigerclaw. "You call me Sensei."


	7. Chapter 7

TMNT The Glasses of Life

Chapter 7

"When fighting an opponent larger than you, you cannot afford to show weakness, ever. Face him and spit on his pride," Tigerclaw said.

"Hai Sensei!" Sam responded. They were behind the shack, in a decent sized field for martial arts training. Sam had learned a few moves so far, basic punches and one kick. He'd learned how to summersault and flip backwards. He was still working on a front flip. Tigerclaw was thoroughly impressed with what Sam could do considering his condition and age. Of course, he didn't tell Sam that. Sam had told him earlier that he had just turned 11.

"Now, try again." Tigerclaw held out his hand. Sam focused on it and flung his leg upwards. It didn't reach Tigerclaw's paw. It was about one foot off. Tigerclaw shook his head. "Again," he commanded. Sam launched another kick. It missed worse than last time. "Again." Sam whimpered and wiped his sweaty forehead. Tigerclaw growled. "Now!" Sam jumped and, through tears, launched another kick. It barely grazed Tigerclaw's palm. "If you want to survive your next ambush, you need to work better than that. Kick my hand, don't skim it, kick it!"

"I'm trying!" Sam yelled through tears.

"Try harder."

"I'm trying as hard as I can!" Tigerclaw took the boys chin and forced him to look at him in the face.

"Then try even harder, because we're not stopping until you do it." Sam's eyes went wide.

"But that's not fair!" Tigerclaw rolled his eyes and stood up straight.

"Life's not fair. Now kick my hand." He extended his palm again. Sam was trembling when he wailed and collapsed. Tigerclaw clamped a hand over his mouth. "Shh! Are you crazy? Do you want Shredder to find us here?!" the more Tigerclaw tried to muzzle him, the louder Sam cried. Finally, he gave up and let the boy cry. They sat for almost ten minutes until he stopped and quieted to a soft whimper. Tigerclaw rubbed his temples. Where was Kennedy when he needed her?

"Are you sure?"

"Yes master, we spotted Tigerclaw running down the forest trail with the geniuses classmates. Here is the footage." Saki watched, then handed the camera back to Bradford and nodded.

"Prepare the bots. Bring me the children and Tigerclaw by any means necessary. Do what you will with the traitor but keep the classmates alive."

Tigerclaw sat with Sam in silence. After he'd cried himself dry, Sam managed to land the kick with the prize of water on the line. Now they sat in the field, Sam was looking at the grass and Tigerclaw was somewhere else in his mind when he heard a noise from inside. He looked at Sam's blank face then stood, catching the boy's attention.

"Sensei?"

"Stay here and keep quiet," Tigerclaw hissed. Great, the kid had alerted an ambush. Just what he needed.

Tigerclaw crept into the house. The kitchen was empty, that left the living room. He stalked into the room to find the other turtle attempting to crawl to the door. He let out a sigh, catching the turtle's attention. "You're in no condition to move," Tigerclaw said. The turtle, he believed Sam had said his name was Miles, looked at him with wide eyes. Tigerclaw approached, and the turtle backed away. Tigerclaw growled. "Stay still," he demanded.

"Sta-y back…" the turtle croaked. There was a slam of a door. Tigerclaw jumped into a fighting stance and nearly fainted when he saw it was only Sam.

"I thought I told you to wait outside," Tigerclaw said, annoyed. Sam swayed back and forth and twirled his thumbs.

"Y-you were gone a long time… I thought you might need help." Tigerclaw let out an irritated sigh. Sam looked around him and gasped. "Miles!" he ran to him and trapped him in a hug as he cried. Miles seemed too shocked to return the hug at first.

"S-Sam…?" was all he said at first, then, it seemed to click that Sam was his brother, and he hugged him back. "What's happened to us, man?"

"We got mutated by the Shredder…" Miles didn't have time to ask.

"And you rudely left him without proper dismissal," a voice growled. Sam shrieked and Miles jumped. Tigerclaw inhaled and took out his freeze gun.

"Bradford," he said, casually.

Kennedy had slept until noon. Karai had tried three times to wake her up and finally gave up when she stayed asleep after a bucket of water to the head. She had come to at around 12:03, looked at Karai, and said, "Was there a monsoon in here or something?" Kennedy lent Karai another outfit, she had pulled out an old cardboard box labelled: "Old shit I never threw out" and handed it to Karai, muttering "have fun" and stalking out to the bathroom. Karai had decided on a long sleeved black shirt and some ripped skinny jeans. Kenn left her some socks and slippers while she went to shower.

Karai couldn't remember the last time she'd worn normal clothes like this. Though, she was a bit worried with how much chest the shirt showed. Maybe there was a tank top in there she could use? She found a very pale purple one and a black one. Karai put the black one down and quickly put the lilac one on under the shirt. She examined herself in the mirror, nodding after a while. "Much better," she said. She was at the door way when she stopped walking. Talking to her brothers without Kennedy felt very off to her. She hadn't spoken to any of them without Kennedy at least being in the room. Karai almost wanted to wait until Kenn got back to leave. She looked back into the room. She hadn't put Kenn's box of clothes away. Maybe she should?

Karai quickly walked towards the box, sealed it, and put it back under the self in Kenn's closet where she'd found it. Then Karai froze. There was a vibrating noise. She scanned the room, and located Kennedy's phone. Glowing, moving slightly. Karai approached. Who would be calling Kenn besides her brothers? Would they really be _that_ lazy? Karai thought a moment. Well, maybe Michelangelo. She read the screen.

Calling: Tyler Pherell. A picture of Tigerclaw was under the name.

Karai's eyes widened. Why was Tigerclaw calling Kennedy? She hesitated on answering the phone. Tigerclaw didn't exactly like her, and she didn't exactly like him. Sure he was a brother to Kenn but… Karai couldn't think of a con big enough to counter that. She sighed, picked up the phone, and…

"What do you want?" that was probably the nicest way she could think of answering the phone. There was static, screaming, then he responded.

"Did I just wake you up?"

"This is Karai, Kenn's in the bathroom."

"… Oh." There was a long pause. "How long is she going to take?"

"Well it's been, what, two minutes since she left? So probably a long time."

"Fuck…" Karai gasped. Even though he'd never been a sugar-coating type, Karai had never heard Tigerclaw cuss before. Not even to her. She heard a high-pitched wail in the background. "Sam!" Tigerclaw shouted. Karai lifted a brow as static exploded on the other end and Tigerclaw scolded the owner of the voice to never scare him like that again. The voice answered with: Hai Sensei!

"What is going on?"

"Shredder," was all Tigerclaw had to whisper. Karai wasn't sure if she could feel bad for him, but she certainly felt bad for the young voice with him.

"So, he finally caught you?"

"I need Kennedy's help." Something about the way he said it made Karai's blood boil.

"Oh, so you expect her to just drop everything to fight off the Shredder for you?" he grunted before replying.

"It's only Bradford and Xever, plus a few bots. Shredder was too high and mighty to come after me himself… again. And I have no interest in her helping _me_ , but I assumed she'd want her classmates to live." Karai lifted a brow.

" _Classmates_?" Tigerclaw was cut off by what sounded like a fist to his head. A high pitched,

"Sensei!" was heard before a shout from Tigerclaw made Karai's ears ring. Then it went silent. "Hello?" the high-pitched voice asked through sobbing. Karai swallowed air.

"H-hello?"

"I-I don't know what's gonna happen but… whoever you are… please! They have my brother and Sensei! They're gonna-!" the line went dead. Karai found herself unable to breath at first. She shook herself back to reality, stumbling out of the bedroom, but not going anywhere. She had to think. Kenn would flip if she found out Shredder had captured Tigerclaw, and go after him. That was the last thing they needed: a dead Kennedy. What was she going to do? She didn't know where Tigerclaw or the boy were, she didn't know how many bots were there! What would she do? What would she do? What-… and then it hit her. Kennedy had an app on her phone that traced calls! She'd gotten it from the police department after catching the purple dragons when they robbed the bank. Karai scrolled through Kenn's apps and… voala! There it was: The Number Nabber. Karai clicked it, but a sound like denial sounded and a typing pad appeared. Password protected. Great. Then Karai remembered; Kenn had only one password for every account she'd ever made. It was long, but easy to remember. Karai typed it in:

 _SUPERCALAfragiLisTICXPalaDocious_Pussy SlayER_xxx_666._

The board unlocked. Karai tapped the call from Tigerclaw. In less than a minute, she had his coordinates. She began to walk abruptly to the door, ignoring a greeting from Leo and nodding to a _good morning_ from Splinter. She left. As soon as she was out of the house, she ran.

"Well, well, well. So you got yourself some pawns, have you Tigerclaw?" Bradford sneered at Sam and Miles, who had passed out minutes ago. Sam shook. Tigerclaw struggled against the pile of foot bots, to no avail. He was trapped. They were going to kill him, Sam, Miles was as good as dead anyway, but Sam had insisted on never giving up. The blood from Miles' head wound was trickling down Sam's shell. "Looks like they didn't do you much good. And now you have Shredder to answer to." Tigerclaw didn't show his fear. "Well, we'll just see how much he likes you now, won't we?"

"Leave him alone!" Sam cried. The entire world stopped spinning. Tigerclaw shot a panicked look of warning at him. Bradford laughed. To Tigerclaw's surprise, Sam hadn't started crying. In fact, he looked about ready to rip Bradford's head off.

"Aw, how cute, your pawn is standing up for you."

"We aren't pawns, we're his students! Like you and the evil man!" Bradford laughed, so loud Kennedy might have heard it. _If only_.

"Please kid, Shredder is nothing like that thing you call Sensei." Sam growled and struggled against his restraints.

"True," he stomped his foot. "Sensei actually _cares_ about us!"

Karai wasn't sure he'd said it when she heard him, but, sure enough, he had. The smaller turtle was glaring at Bradford something fierce; he looked about ready to bathe in his blood. She had never seen a look of pure hatred on a face so young before. It scared her.

"You little worm," Bradford growled and back-handed the child. He flew back a few meters and landed on his chest, with the other turtle bound by the ropes on top of him. The child wasn't moving. Karai gasped.

"Sam!" Tigerclaw roared and began to wrestle his was free from the pile of foot bots. Xever stabbed a tazzer into his side and Tigerclaw fell to his knees.

"You idiot!" Xever bellowed at Bradford. "Shredder specifically said; do not harm the classmates!" Karai listened intently. So, these turtles were Kenn's classmates… Karai glanced back at the children. They were still unconscious, but, hadn't they landed a little to the right? The smallest one; Sam, she believed his name was, squinted one eye open. He watched Xever and Bradford argue, and, once he was sure they weren't looking, scooted a little closer to the bush she was hiding in. _Smart boy, Tigerclaw taught you well_.

"Well I didn't know the brat was so weak-boned! Besides, did you see the way he fought? I thought he was 14, at least!"

"The medical record Shredder told _you_ to read specifically stated that he's 11! His brother's the teenager, you clumsy-brained mammal!"

While the duo bickered on, Karai waited for an opportunity to talk to the boy. _Just a little closer… closer… come on, Sam, a little closer…_ he was within earshot.

"Psst!" she saw the boy's eyes widen slightly. "Psst! Kid, behind you, in the bush," Karai whispered in her gravelly voice. The boy turned his gaze to Karai's bush. He kept his eye closest to Bradford and Xever closed.

"Hello?" he mouthed. Karai came forward a bit. The boy didn't seem to be scared of her… she was in her human form.

"I'm the one you talked to earlier. On Tigerclaw's phone." The boy went wide eyed. Xever was looking at him.

"Oh, _thank God_. Well, you didn't kill him, _Rahzar,_ now try not to murder him before Shredder gets him."

"Help!" Sam shouted and scooted backwards into the shrub. "Help us!" he begged. Karai took a deep breath. She morphed to her snake form.

"Hold sssssstill," she whispered to Sam and her snake hands gnawed on the rope.

"Save your breath, son," Xever said, coolly. "No one can hear you." The ropes broke. Sam leapt up and slipped into a fighting stance.

"Let my Sensei go!" he screamed. Karai noticed he was favouring his left foot. She slithered out of the shrub and lunged at Bradford. She had a score to settle from the last fight. Bradford was stunned by the impact, tumbling backwards onto Xever, who was flailing and shouting, _get them!_ at the foot bots. Karai smashed a good portion of the bots off Tigerclaw. He managed to take care of the rest when he came to.

Sam was not a skilled fighter, but he was doing better than Karai had expected. He summersaulted under the legs of a bot and stabbed its back with a jagged blade. Another flew at him. He blocked the punches and flipped backwards, using one bot as a launch pad, he flew forward and landed a stab right in the foot bot's head. Sam cringed when he landed. Karai saw him grab his left ankle.

Before she could react, Tigerclaw dove at the foot bots that were about to grab Sam and swiftly destroyed them.

"Are you alright?" it was the most concerned she'd ever heard Tigerclaw sound in a long time. Sam stood at smiled.

"H-hai Sensei." Pain exploded on Karai's tail, like an anvil had just been dropped. She hissed and tried to slither away but it was no use; Bradford was not moving his foot. Xever flew at her and kicked her in the jaw, again on her temple. And then, the tazzer, bolts of agony rocked her bones and she collapsed. Karai thought she heard her name before she fell into the abyss.

The world came back in slow, blurry frames. At first there was only light, then, splotches, and finally, figures. Still too blurry for Karai to recognise.

"Karai?" asked a voice; soft and concerned. "How many fingers am I holding up?" blurs appeared in front of her face. She groaned and closed her eyes again. The pain was unbelievable. "No! No, Karai, stay awake, pleas…" the voice was fading. "…ay…ake…" still fading, yet never really gone. She felt something touch her. She didn't know what it was, and yet she knew exactly what it was. The hand wasn't touching her cheek, it was touching her spirit. _Leo_ , she tried to say. _Leo…_

Donnie was scheduled to spend the day with Kennedy today, but she had come down with a bug, and wasn't in the mood to "vomit all over her best friends brother", as she put it. So she stayed in the bath and fooled around on her laptop, while she told Donnie to try writing a poem about April. He didn't know why she had recommended that, but he did so anyway. He looked over his work so far:

You make me want to die,

But because I protected you,

Why is love so complicated?

Can't I just say how I feel?

I know I'm not exactly handsome,

And I know you're beautiful,

But I think, while magic rides shotgun in a mystical car,

It's love behind the wheel.

He wasn't proud of it, but he had never been good at poetry. He was more of a guitar guy. He had written a few songs in his time, but had never been brave enough to play them in front of anyone. He was afraid they'd think him corny, geeky, a dork… more so than usual. He remembered the last time he talked to Kennedy, when she'd called him cute. He was still shocked at how comfortable he'd been in that situation. If April ever called him that, he would have blushed redder than the blood in his body. Somehow, with Kenn, it wasn't awkward.

Donnie heard some groaning and gagging from the bathroom. He wondered if Kennedy needed some help.

"Donatello?" Donnie turned his head.

"Hi Sensei," he said.

"Have you seen Leonardo and Karai?" Donnie's mouth went a-gape and he took a step back.

"W-wha… n-no. Why?" Splinter looked over his shoulder before answering.

"Karai left without a word after Kennedy went to shower… Leonardo said he was going for a walk but I know he went after her…" Splinter shuddered. "I don't know why they have been gone for so long."

The door burst open. Splinter and Donnie looked up simultaneously to see Leonardo, pale and sweaty, carrying Karai, in her snake form, who was looking almost dead. Behind him, to both of their shock, was Tigerclaw, with two other mutant turtles! Splinter gasped and rushed to Leo and Karai, leading them to Kenn's bed couch. Donnie stared at the smaller, quivering turtle. He wiped his tear-stained cheek and hid behind Tigerclaw. Donnie took a few steps back, bowed slightly, and ran to the bathroom to get Kennedy.

Kennedy had been clean for hours, but she didn't want to leave the tubs warmth. She actually had the water so hot, it would have burned anyone else. But Kennedy liked the scalding heat of the water against her bare flesh. It hurt in a good way, especially for pulled muscles. And Kenn did have a knack for pulling muscles, especially the small ones that were hard to get to.

"Kennedy! Kenn!" there were several quick knocks at her door. Kennedy groaned.

"Just a second, I'm not decent!" she climbed out of the tub lazily and slipped on a sweater and some PJ shorts, after shaking herself off like a dog. "Okay, you can come in now."

"Karai and Tigerclaw need you." Kennedy burst out of the bathroom and almost walked into Donnie.

"What happened?" Donnie said nothing but motioned for Kennedy to follow him. She did, and was lead into her living room, where a panicking Splinter practically sobbed with relief to see her. The first gaze she noticed was Tigerclaw's. Their eyes met. "Seriously Ty? It hasn't even been a month yet." Tigerclaw chuckled, despite the pain in his chest, and raised a brow.

"Did you just work out or something?" Kenn crossed her arms.

"I was taking a bath, _trying_ to relax so I don't throw up again." She looked at Donnie. "By the way, you may need to wipe down your staff." Donnie made a sick face.

"Throw up?" Tigerclaw inquired.

"I have the flu," Kennedy answered, and hacked, as if to emphasise her point.

"Oh, that explains why you look so horrible," Tigerclaw said smugly. Kennedy glared at him.

"Thanks, girls _love_ hearing that."

"Kenn!" she turned her head and looked at Leo. He was panting heavily and sweating very bad. He pointed at Karai. "H-help… her…" he was sucking in air like a drowning man. Kenn lifted a brow.

"You good bro?" Leo coughed and continued to pant, more desperately, as if when he breathed, he wasn't getting air. Kennedy knelt beside him and put her hand on his shoulder. "Dude, chill. Breathe in," Leo took a deep breath. "And breathe out." She repeated herself five times. After a while, he managed to sputter:

"Th-thanks… Kenn…" she nodded in acknowledgement.

Kennedy knelt in front of Karai and placed her hand on her forehead. _Heal_ , she thought. _Heal_. Kennedy felt something in her mind. A presence… pushing its way into her mind… it was… was it…? Suddenly, Kennedy felt the healing aura in the back of her mind being drained away. _No!_ She pushed the presence away, blocked it from her mind, focused more intensely on Karai. _Heal_ , she thought. _Heal, heal, heal_. Her palm began to sweat. _Heal, damn it_.

"Uhg…" Kennedy sucked in air and removed her hand. Karai opened her eyes into slits. Kenn cocked her head to the left, having only seen Karai as her snake form once, not including this time. "Mm…" Karai turned her head. "Kenn…" she sounded like her throat was a desert.

"Can someone get her some water?" Leo abruptly stood and walked towards the kitchen. Kennedy stopped using her healing power, but kept her hand on Karai's forehead, more so for her own comfort than Karai's. She had been unable to use the power… as easily as she used to. Kennedy shuddered at the thought of Karai's bashed-in head, and Kennedy sitting by the couch, unable to help her best friend. She stroked Karai's forehead with her thumb, a very un-Kennedy-ish thing to do.

She felt his presence before she saw Leo kneel next to her with the water. Without looking at him, she took the cup and nodded. "Thank-you, Leo," she said. As shocked as everyone else was by her words, Kennedy rose to her knees and held the cup to Karai's mouth. Did snakes have lips? Karai gulped it down in seconds, breathing heavily when she drank the last of the water.

"Th-thanks… Kenn…"

"Sure," Kennedy replied. The word was empty and forced. "What in the name of Gaskubaffa happened?" Tigerclaw looked down at a small mutant turtle Kennedy didn't recognise. "Is he a long lost cousin?" she asked Tigerclaw.

"We need you to heal his brother," Tigerclaw said, and pointed to a limp body by her fireplace. Kennedy went wide eyed.

"That's still ALIVE?! Why didn't you tell me earlier?!" she rushed to the body and pressed both hands against the gash. _Heal_ , she demanded. _Heal, heal, heal, heal…_ again, the pushing in the back of her mind. It was, however, no stronger than last time, and Kennedy pushed it away easily. _Heal, heal, heal…_

"Muhu… Ssumm…" groaned the turtle. Kennedy went wide eyed when she heard his voice. She looked at his eyes as they opened. Brown. She turned her head to the smaller, cowering turtle by Tigerclaw. He was gazing at her intently. She swallowed hard.

"Sammy?" she asked. The child grinned eye to eye.

"Kennedy!" he cried, running into her open arms and sobbing. Kennedy held him tightly, as she often did when he had a nightmare. Kennedy remembered Sam when he was younger. How he was always so excited when he found out she would be babysitting him and his brother, although Miles had different ideas. Kennedy had found out later on that Miles disliked her only because he thought she was homophobic. Because he'd heard some of the music she liked drop the bad F-word for gay. Kennedy had to then explain to him that she only liked the music for the beat, and that she found the words extremely offensive, especially for her, being Lesbian and all, and that she was the furthest thing from homophobic. "Gay people are awesome!" she remembered saying.

"W-what's gonna h-happen to…?" Sam tried to ask.

"He'll be fine," Kennedy said, lifting Sam into her lap as she healed his ankle. "You all will be after…" the presence was back, stronger. Kennedy pushed it away again. "After I'm done."

Karai came too slowly. The room was dimly lit, which she appreciated, the noise was fuzzy, like a kittens mew. Her eyes adjusted to the TV, an old How I Met Your Mother episode was on. Karai slowly sat up, and realised there was a pair of legs across her midsection. She sat up anyway and they fell into her lap. She turned and saw Kennedy, fast asleep on the couch with one ear bud in, and a half eaten peanut-butter and jelly sandwich hanging limp in one hand. A drool patch was on the pillow she was using. Karai reached for the spare ear bud to see what her friend was listening to, but the serpent head for a hand reminded her that she was still in her snake form.

Karai stared down at herself. What had she become? She was hideous… er than before. Before… at least she had a decent figure to fall back on, now, not only was she tempted to eat her father every five minutes, but there was no blush on earth that would match her skin tone now. That thought made Karai giggle. _Listen to yourself, Karai, fretting over some stupid make-up… I need to start working out again or something_.

"How do you feel?" to Karai's astonishment, Tigerclaw was staring at her from the other couch. The older turtle Kennedy had healed was asleep on the other end. She didn't see Sam. "Karai?" she snapped back to reality and morphed into her human form.

"Fine," she answered, still hating the sound of her new voice. At least it didn't hurt to talk anymore, thanks to Kenn… She scanned the area. It looked like she and Tigerclaw were the only ones in the room… that were awake, anyway. She watched Tigerclaw look down at the older turtle, then he looked near the kitchen door. Karai noticed a bandage around his hand and wrist. "… Where's the little kid?" Karai had always hated awkward silences.

"He's out back, playing with Leonardo." Karai was sure she heard him wrong and shook her head.

"I'm sorry, he's what?" Tigerclaw lifted a brow.

"Sam's playing with Leonardo in the backyard," he said again. Karai went wide eyed and she lifted a brow.

"He… he's _playing_ with Leo?" she wasn't sure if she'd said it right. Out of all of her brothers, he was playing with Leo? She would have guessed Mikey for sure, maybe Donnie. But Leo?

"Is there a problem with that?" Karai shook her head.

"No, I've just… I never took Leo as a… kid person." As soon as she said it, into the living room ran Leo, with Sam on his back, arms spread wide, making engine sounds. They were laughing. Leo spun 360 degrees before kneeling and letting Sam jump onto the ground. The child saluted and Leo saluted back.

"Piolet to ground patrol, we have arrived and are awaiting orders, over." Sam made a static-y sound after saying 'over'. Leo stood and made a similar sound.

"Ground patrol to piolet, message received, we are sending the mission now…" He noticed that Karai and Tigerclaw were staring at him and blushed. "O-oh hey, you're awake!" he said to Karai. She lifted a brow and nodded slowly, unsure of whether she should laugh or cry at his geeky entrance. Sam looked at her and smiled.

"Oh, hi! Thanks for saving me and Sensei!" Karai smirked at that fact. Tigerclaw frowned and looked away from her.

"No problem. Kenn would have had my head if I didn't." Sam cocked his head to the side with a worried expression. Karai glanced around nervously before he said:

"Your voice sound kind of sore…" she glanced around again, trying to avoid his statement. "Do you need more water?" he pointed at her empty cup. Karai shook her head 'no'. Leo put a hand on Sam's shoulder and smiled.

"That's just how Karai talks, Sam."


	8. Chapter 8

The Glasses of Life

Chapter 8

Raph had been keeping pretty quiet since the arrival of Sam and Miles. He mostly stayed in his room and read the books Kenn had in there previously. He had decided that Gone by Michel Grant was his favourite so far. Eventually, Kenn asked him to come out and help her set up some lunch. He asked why Karai couldn't and Kennedy sneezed, blew her nose, and said Karai didn't want to catch her Bronchitis (Kenn eventually figured out that Bronchitis was her sickness after running some tests. She was on medication she'd made for it now), even though she was no longer contagious. Raph groaned, rolled off his bed and said: "And we let you cook our food?" she led him out into the kitchen.

"Okay, this is a pretty easy thing to carry, one plate on each arm, 'kay?"

"Alright," groaned Raph. She handed him a plate of… what was it? "What on earth is that?"

"Tuna noodle casserole. It's Sam's favourite. I used to make it for him all the time when I babysat him."

"I thought you and Sam were classmates?"

"We are."

"Then why are you babysitting him? And what's an 11 year old doing in high school?" Kennedy grinned.

"When I babysat him before, I'd help him study for school. I guess I taught him too much, because intellectually, he's 16 too." She grinned and walked out to the living room. Raph stayed behind for a bit. Was Kennedy saying she turned an 11 year old into a 16 year old all by helping him study? He shook his head. Kenn was a complicated person, especially when she was sick. How she had done it was completely beyond Raphael, but, that would explain why when Donnie was talking to Sam about his science-y stuff, he actually paid attention. Raph walked out to see everyone crowded around the couch Tigerclaw and the other turtle were on. He could hear Sam crying.

"Miles! You're okay!" he approached.

"Hey Raph," greeted Kennedy. "Look who finally decided to join the party." There on the couch, sat the most handsome turtle Raph had ever seen in his life. His features were rugged, tough, there was a scar across the left side of his mouth and eye. He was a deep shade of emerald. His eyes were a soft cinnamon brown. He had very defined muscles in his arms and neck. His legs were strong as well; Raph could tell he'd attended a gym regularly before his mutation.

Raph took a step back. It was only him and Leo that knew he was interested in boys, not girls. He'd made Leo swear never to tell anyone, especially Splinter. Leo had found out when he saw Raph kiss Casey. Of course, Casey turned out to be interested in girls, and Raph understood, but he felt like he had to do it, at least once, and that he hoped that he and Casey could still be "cool". Casey had smiled and said sure, though Raph could tell the smile was forced. After Casey had left, and Raph had finished "letting it out", was when Leo had approached him.

"Hey-a, freak," Kennedy said to Miles. All eyes went wide. Raph almost raised his voice at her, when Miles grinned and said:

"Greetings, twat." They laughed. Kenn plopped in between him and Tigerclaw.

"So, got any ouchies I should be aware of?" Miles laughed and shook his head.

"Nah, I think I'm okay. Thanks though." His voice was much higher than Raph expected. Miles looked at each of them for a while. When he looked at Raph, he seemed to take longer to look away. He then looked at Kennedy again with a smirk. "Hey, who's the viper over there?" it took Raph a moment to realise he was referring to Karai, who had been in her human form for a while, and was practically hiding behind Splinter. Raph thought he saw Splinter's eyes flare before Kennedy rolled her eyes and snorted.

"Oh, lay off my bestie, she's taken anyway." Raph was sure he wasn't the only one who was wondering: _by_ _ **who?**_ "Besides, she's a girl," Kennedy said with a wink. Raph was certain Miles would get angry, but he just shrugged.

"Hey, that doesn't mean I can't flirt," he said and gave a helpless pout. Raph was sure he blushed when he saw Miles pout. Raph noticed Leo tensing up out of the corner of his eye.

"What do you mean; _besides she's a girl_?" asked Mikey to Kennedy. She lifted a brow.

"Miles is gay, Mikey." Mikey went wide-eyed.

"Kennedy! I know you may not like him, but there is no need for name-calling!" Kennedy kept an arched brow and held back a giggle.

"Uh, that's not what gay means, Mikey." Mikey cocked his head, his eyes wide with wonder.

"It isn't?"

"No. Being gay isn't bad, or an insult."

"Oh. Then, what does it mean?" the others looked about as lost as Mikey. All except Karai and April and Casey. Kennedy looked at Splinter.

"You never told them about LGBT?" Splinter looked flabbergasted.

"I-it never really came up…" Kennedy sighed and shook her head while tsk tsking at Splinter. Raph found himself dying to know. He had a pretty good idea, but he needed to be sure, needed to hear it from Kenn, he needed to know.

"Well," she began. "LGBT stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender." She waited until she got some nods to continue. "Gay means that boys like boys, not girls. Like, they like-like boys. Would date a guy, not a girl. That's what Miles is." She gestured to Miles, who tipped his imaginary hat and bowed.

"And proud of it!" Raph could see Leo eyeing him. He was probably sweating and blushing. He was gay… Hamato Raphael was gay! And so was the boy he found attractive. He gulped.

"Lesbian is that, but with girls instead. Like, girls falling for girls, not guys. Bisexuals will date guys and girls, regardless of their gender. Transgenders are people who were one gender, but had an operation to become the other gender." Raph couldn't believe that his interest in boys was normal. He'd thought there was something wrong with his head. He'd tried google, but all it had done was offer him prayers and religion he wasn't interested in. And it never changed how he felt.

"Those are the four main ones," Kennedy said. Mikey tilted his head.

"You mean there's more?" Kennedy nodded.

"To my knowledge."

"What are they?" Raph asked before he could stop himself. Kennedy eyed him, then smiled, as if she'd just seen his secret written on his forehead, and said:

"I only know asexual, demi sexual and pansexual. Asexual is when you don't have any sexual feelings or desires. Demi sexual is when you can feel emotional attachment to your lover, but not sexual. Only with someone you really, really trust, but otherwise, no sex for the demi sexual, no thank-you. And pansexuality is when you'll date anyone, anything, as long as you love them. It could be a boy, a girl, a transgender…" she glanced at Mikey before adding, "… a mutant ninja turtle, it doesn't matter. If it's love, go for it. There are probably more, but, I just got my voice back, I don't want to waste it."

It was very late. Almost 12:00 at night when Raph knocked on Kenn's bedroom door. He had been dying to talk to someone about this for the longest time, and Kennedy seemed to be the closest thing to an expert he knew of. He knocked again. No answer. Raph swallowed his pride and opened the door. He saw Karai fast asleep, but the covers were thrown off Kenn's bed, and she wasn't there. Raph stared. Where could she be?

"Raph?" Raph almost jumped out of his shell when she croaked out his name. Kennedy stood behind him, rubbing one eye with one hand and holding a glass of water with the other. She yawned. "What's up?" Raph glanced over his shoulders. He was alone with Kennedy.

"I need to talk to you," he whispered. Kenn nodded.

"Well, the hallway's no place to do it. Follow me." She walked down her hall and turned a corner Raph hadn't noticed before. He followed her, and saw a giant spiral stair case that she was half way up. "Up here," she whispered. Raph followed her. When he got up, he saw a huge hardwood floor space, with a couch and a TV. There were doors on each wall. Kennedy was sitting in the middle of the floor with her legs crossed. She patted the spot in front of her. Raph climbed the rest of the stairs and sat where she'd pat. "So, what's on your mind?" Raph took a deep breath, and looked down at his feet.

"… I… I think I'm…" he glanced up at Kennedy. "Do you promise not to tell anyone?" Kenn nodded.

"Of course." Raph sighed.

"I… I'm gay, okay?" he closed his eyes to spare himself the embarrassment. He waited for Kennedy to laugh at him, but instead, she snorted and said:

"And?" Raph opened one eye. She was looking at him with that smug smile and lifted brow of hers. He struggled to swallow before answering.

"Th-that's it." Kennedy snorted.

"That's all? That's what you were so worried about? What did you think, I'd go all homophobic on your ass?" she laughed. Raph shushed her.

"Would you stop?!" he whispered. "Listen, no one, and I mean **no one** can know about this! I mean it; I could get in huge trouble!" Kennedy laughed again.

"Why?"

"What do you mean why?!" Raph whispered. "If Splinter finds out I'm gay, he'll beat me into the ground!" Kennedy was trying so hard not to laugh.

"Pfft! No he won't Raph, you're over reacting. It's okay to be gay, bro, Miles is proof of that…" a look of realisation took over Kennedy's face and she nodded while grinning. "Aw! I ship it, dude."

"WILL YOU STOP?!" Raph hadn't meant to yell that last part. Kennedy stared wide-eyed at him. Raph wondered why she looked so scared until he felt what she was seeing running down his cheek. He blushed and quickly covered his face. He felt her arms coil around him before he could run away.

"Jesus, Raph, would you relax? It's okay…" they sat like that for a while, Raphael crying into his hand while Kennedy hugged him from behind. She wasn't a very good hugger, but Raph appreciated the effort. "Relax, it's okay…" He tried to take deep breaths. Soon, his crying simmered down to snuffling. Kennedy let go of him and sat next to him. "You okay?" he sniffled.

"Uh-huh."

"Okay. Now listen." Raph looked at her and wiped his face. "Raph, there is absolutely nothing wrong with being gay. It's perfectly normal. You have no reason to be freaking out, it's okay." She kept her hand on the back of his neck, occasionally stroking it with her thumb. "Chill," she said. Raph took a deep breath, he tried to let Kennedy's words sink in. _It's okay, being gay is normal, nothing's wrong with you, it's okay…_

"What if Splinter finds out?" he asked in a quivering voice. Kennedy smiled.

"Then he'll be happy that you found someone you like, bro. You're his son; he'll love you no matter what. Whether he likes it or not." Raph chuckled and Kenn did too.

"Thanks Kenn," he said. She nodded and grinned.

"Hey, if you want, I can hook you up with Miles." Raph's heart stopped beating.

"Kennedy, if you fucking tell him, I swear to God-"

"Oh relax," she taunted. "I'm not gonna drop your name, I'm just gonna hint at it. Until he gives me a sign. Besides, I'm pretty sure he likes you too," she sang. Raph's eyes widened and he blushed.

"R-really?" he cursed under his breath for stuttering. Kennedy nodded and stood. She offered him a hand. He took it and she pulled him to his feet.

"Pretty sure," she repeated. "I know how he acts around guys he's checking out." She gave Raph the elevator eyes before continuing. "By the way, you may wanna watch how you bend down next time you see him. Miles has a thing for bums." She winked and he blushed. Kenn giggled at his blush and yawned. "Well, it's late, and I'm getting cranky, so let's go back to bed."

Kennedy walked Raph back to his room and gave him a reassuring pat on his head before she left. Raph found he was extremely tired, and fell asleep in seconds. He dreamt about Miles and him that night, and woke up to a wet dream.


	9. Chapter 9

TMNT The Glasses of Life

Chapter 9

 **CONTAINS ADULT CONTENT: RATED MA! One of our beloved characters gets molested, so, if you don't like it, don't read it!**

It was a Leo day for Kennedy. She looked forward to it because Leo intrigued her. She wanted to know what bands he liked and why, mostly, but she would try to stick to her cards, like she should. She couldn't help but think about Raph and Miles. They were just so cute together! She _had_ to hook them up, ASAP.

"Hey-a," Kennedy sang and sat in front of Leo. She was finally able to sing again after she healed her Bronchitis, and she hadn't shut up since. Leo waved and smiled.

"Hey," he said.

"So listen," Kennedy began. "I was thinking last night. And I've been fighting and training with you guys for almost one month now. Yet I know so little about you." Leo nodded like he didn't understand but was pretending to anyway. "So… what's your favourite band?" She stared at him, watching his face as he thought. So much for sticking to her cards. Leo sighed. Knowing Kenn, she could never stay serious for long.

"What if I have more than one?" Kennedy smiled. She had half expected him to question her motives again.

"Then tell me all of them." Leo's eyes went wide and he breathed out a chuckle.

"I'll say my top five, just to save time," he said. Kennedy pouted but shrugged.

"Whatever, dude." Leo took a breath.

"GReeeeN, Fall Out Boy, Of Mice and Men, Breaking Benjamin, and Skillet." Kennedy was grinning ear to ear.

"Oh my Lord, I love all of those bands! More so Skillet and Breaking Benjamin but still!" Leo's eyes went wide and he almost chocked on the granola bar he was eating.

"Really? I never took you as a rock person."

"Actually, I'm metal, heavy metal, post hard-core, metal core, heavy rock, gothic rock, scene or emo, you know, the whole works," she sang. Leo nodded. "So, do you have a favourite song? Or five?" they laughed and Leo took another breath.

"Shinobi; by GReeeeN, One More Night; by Maroon 5, What Lies Beneath; by Breaking Benjamin, Centuries; by Fall Out Boy, and Fire and Fury by Skillet." Kennedy high-fived him.

"Yeah, boy!" she said.

"What about you?" Leo asked, now looking just as interested as Kennedy. Kennedy blinked, and then shifted her position so she could face Leo more efficiently.

"Okay, my top five bands are Porcelain and the Tramps, Fall Out Boy, Hollywood Undead, Skillet and Evanescence. My top five favourite _singers_ are: Lzzy Hale, Pink, Marilyn Manson, Mikey, and Amy Lee. My-"

"Wait, wait, wait, did you just say Mikey?" Leo asked with wide eyes. Kennedy nodded and grinned.

"Have you heard his songs? That boy can sing. Very well, actually." Leo nodded. "Hey, what can I do? He's cute." Leo made a face like he'd just tasted a sour candy that was supposed to be sweet. Kennedy lifted a brow. "Yeah, I said Mikey's cute. Is there a problem with that?" Leo shook his head, traces of the sour candy were still in his expression. "Okay, because you're not the only one who reacted that way," she said with a giggle. "Except Donnie just looked at me like I had six heads."

"You think Mikey's cute? Do you mean, cute, cute, or handsome-cute?" Leo asked with a lifted brow. Kennedy shrugged.

"Both," she said. Leo stared at her until the awkward silence became too much for him.

"So, uh… what's your favourite colour?" she smiled again.

"Blue, same as you." He nodded and smiled back. "Who was your first crush?" Kennedy said. She hadn't phrased it like a question; she knew who he liked. Leo blushed and began to sweat. He looked at her smug smile with wide eyes.

"Wh-why do you… why do you want to know?"

"I'm getting to know you, Leo. I want to know what you look for in a relationship."

"Why?"

"Because I'm curious, now _spill_ ," she said and leaned close to his face. He backed away and she laughed at his shyness. "Come on, if you tell me, I'll tell _you_." Leo blushed and looked down.

"I think you already know…"

"I know your _current_ crush, I don't know your first crush," she sang. Leo went wide eyed.

"Wh-what are you?-… what do you?- wh-what?-"

"Oh come _on_ , Leo, I'm pretty sure everyone knows you still like her. It only took me like, five minutes of seeing you two together to figure it out." While Kennedy taunted him, Leo had receded to the other side of the couch and held his knees to his plastron. His blush had grown deep, and he could feel sweat dripping down his forehead. "What? It's not like it's wrong or anything, I mean, have you _seen_ Karai? She is **gorgeous**!"

"Would you, shh!" Leo clamped his hand over Kennedy's mouth. She blinked and Leo sighed before whispering: "Listen, you cannot tell _anyone_ I like her, I mean it, _**anyone**_. Splinter would **kill** me! She's my sister!" Kennedy couldn't help but think of Raph last night, and smile to herself.

"Not biologically-"

"Not important!"

"It's always important."

"It doesn't matter!" Leo whispered. "If Splinter finds out I have a crush on my sister…"

"His daughter," Kennedy corrected.

"Same thing!" Leo fumed. Kennedy lifted a brow and sighed.

"No, actually, it's not." She took Leo's hand off of her mouth before continuing. "Leo, let's say, by some hell-ish miracle, my dad survived the fire that killed him, and he turned out to be the Shredder." Leo lifted a brow and nodded hesitantly. "That doesn't make Shredder my dad, or even my father."

"Yes it would-"

"No it most certainly would not!" Kennedy said back. "If he was alive all this time, why didn't he come looking for me? Why didn't he rock me to sleep at night? Why wasn't he there for any of my birthdays, graduations, anything?! It would make him the guy who's penis helped make me, but it wouldn't make him my father any more than standing in a garage makes me an automobile." Leo laughed, having finally understood what Kennedy was saying. "Quite honestly, Splinter's been more of a father to me than mine ever has, and I haven't even said two words to the guy." Leo laughed again, a good wholesome laugh. He smiled at Kennedy and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Thanks, Kenn," he said. She nodded, looked past him, and waved.

"Hey guys!" she said. Leo turned and smiled. Raph and Miles were walking towards them… holding hands. They sat on the bed-couch and Miles put his arm around Raph.

"Hey," they said in unison. Kennedy squealed.

"Oh my God, **I ship it so hard**!" Miles rolled his eyes and smiled and Raph looked worried. Kennedy rolled her eyes. "Relax, it's just us here." Raph relaxed and moved closer to Miles. "So, who asked who out?" Miles raised his hand.

"That'd be me. By the way, Kenn, watch how you bend, really?" Kennedy laughed, and Leo lifted a brow.

"Hey, I thought I'd give him a fair warning of you and your… bum fetish." Leo suddenly got the reference and blushed. He was shocked to see Raph's cheeks were not red in the slightest. He looked happy just to feel Miles against him. Leo wondered how he and Karai would look together like that.

"Eh," said Miles. "He would have figured it out eventually," he chimed and nudged Raph, who smiled and nudged him back.

"I don't get bums!" Kennedy said. Leo hid his face in the palm of his hand and groaned. Why did they have to talk about bums after he and Kenn just had a conversation about Karai? "I mean, you poop and fart out of them! How can _anyone_ find that hot, or cute?! I do _not_ understand!" Leo rubbed his temples. Miles and Raph laughed.

"Well, some people appreciate the bum for what it is and what it does. And it can look cute while doing it," Miles said and winked at Raph. Kennedy rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, because making a Mr. Hankey is so damn sexy." They laughed and Leo stood up.

"Hey, let's not talk about butts," he said, annoyed. Kennedy giggled.

"Okay, okay, we'll watch a movie instead…" Kennedy walked to her shelf above her TV and stood on her tip-toes. "Let's see… nope… nope… ha-ha, nope… eh… pfft! Uh, no. Hm…"

"Come on! There this way!"

"Uhg, Sam, we just put away the cars like, five minutes ago."

"Nuh-uh!" Sam was pulling Karai behind him by her wrist. She looked about ready to pass out, while Sam looked like he'd downed five cups of coffee. Miles turned to look at Sam half-heartedly, while Raph tensed up and shrunk into his shell a bit. Kennedy ignored them. Leo waved at Sam and smiled. Sam noticed him and waved back, sprinting towards him. "Leo!" he yelled and jumped onto his lap. "Whatcha doing?" Karai plopped down beside Leo and sighed. Leo chuckled.

"We were going to watch a movie-"

"What one?"

"I don't know-"

"What's your favourite movie?"

"I'm not sure-"

"Do you like Pokémon?"

"I guess-"

"What's your favourite Pokémon?"

"Oh, um, I really don't-"

"Do spiders have brains?" Leo suddenly felt like he needed a nap.

"Kenn, have you found a movie yet?" Kennedy laughed and looked over her shoulder.

"Hang in there Mr. Man, I'll find one eventually."

"What are belly buttons for?"

"I don't know-"

"Why is the sky blue?"

"Well, I think-"

"Who would win in a fight, Mighty Mouse or Superman?"

"Kennedy!" Kennedy looked over her shoulder again and sighed.

"Superman," she said. "Sam, why don't you help me pick a movie?"

"Okay!" Sam said, and hopped off Leo. He sighed and leaned back against the couch. He liked Sam, but Sam had several questions that would never be answered because he kept firing more and more out there. Kennedy said he was just curious, like Curious Gorge, she'd once said. Or Paddington Bear.

"And you wonder why no one wants to get stuck with him," Miles said. Leo opened his eyes and shrugged.

"Eh, he's okay once he settles down." Miles laughed.

"Dude, that was him settled down." He looked at Karai. "Why were you with him anyway? I thought he was with his Sensei or whatever?" Karai tensed before answering.

"Tigerclaw asked me to watch him for a while and he never came back."

"Tigerclaw told me he was going for a walk," Kennedy said. "I think he had a headache."

"This one!" said Sam, and held up a movie. Kennedy took it, lifted a brow, turned it over, tilted her head, and looked at Sam. He was grinning ear to ear, or, whatever turtles had for ears.

"You sure?" Sam nodded furiously. "Okay. I hope you like teenager issues." Leo lifted a brow. Sam just laughed.

"Like them? I live with one!" Kennedy burst into laughter while Miles scowled and crossed his arms.

"You're a little 'tard," he said to Sam. Sam stuck his tongue out in response.

"Language," Kennedy said and glared at Miles. Leo didn't know 'tard' was a swear word, but, he decided to take Kennedy's warning for it. Sam sat beside Karai and was moving his legs back and forth excitedly. Leo would have said he was sitting in between him and Karai, but, it didn't feel that way to him. Kennedy sat next to Leo and hit play on her remote. She then stood right back up and walked out of the room. Leo watched her go with curiosity.

"Where's she going?" Sam asked Karai. She shrugged. He turned to Leo. "Where's Kennedy going?"

"I don't know." The movie began with a narrator and a boy at a desk, writing. Leo didn't recognise the movie. He looked at Sam, who was looking at Karai, who was giving Sam her trade-mark lifted brow, pursed pout look.

"The Perks of Being a Wallflower?" she said. Leo knew that book, he'd read it online. It had inspired his short story; Agony. He had liked the book, but he wished he knew who Charlie; the main character, was writing to all of that time. Sam nodded.

"Kennedy said it was one of her top five favourite books." Karai looked unsure, glancing nervously from the screen to Sam.

"Sam, do you know what the book is about?"

"Kennedy said it was about growing up, and she said because I'm growing up, I could read her book anytime I wanted." Karai lifted a brow.

"Did she?"

"Uh-huh!" Sam replied. "She told me it had some things I might not understand, though." Sam kicked his feet back and forth before adding, "I'm not sure what she meant."

"She meant that if your mom or dad found out I'm letting you watch this, I'd only be able to see you through prison bars," murmured Kennedy as she re-approached the group. She sat next to Leo again. There was a book in her hand. Leo read the title: The Perks of Being a Wallflower. He lifted a brow. Sam crawled in between Leo and Kennedy and looked at the book. Leo had scooted next to Karai hesitantly. Their thighs were barely touching.

"Aren't you watching the movie?" Sam asked. Leo caught the scent of Karai's perfume. It made his mouth water.

"I like the book better," Kennedy stated, and began to read. About five minutes into the film, Sam had decided to read with Kennedy, occasionally gasping at the swears in the book or the mention of drugs or sex. Leo hadn't minded that part as much; he had never been one to swear, but Raphael was another story. And he'd read about drugs on the internet for some of his stories. He's also read some 'erotica', which he described as a legal way to say porn. Although, somehow, if it was put into words, it made it seem less illegal. Leo didn't write a lot of erotica, he believed you can only write what you know, and, being a mutant turtle had its ways of turning off some potential partners. He had only written one, as a request, and because the scenario of the story reminded him of himself and Karai.

A fan had asked him to write about a gay couple becoming 'intimate' for the first time, against the wishes of society. He'd placed the couple in 2027, a future where gay rights were non-existent.

One was a bad boy that broke all of the rules, and a fair amount of bones. The other was a quiet geek, who hadn't broken anything except the internet a couple of times. He'd named the bad boy Karson (Kari) and the geek Liam. He'd had a good time writing the story. The fan really liked it, too. He'd made Kari play the role of 'girl' in terms of where things were put… he didn't read the story very often, there was too much of his personal desires, and it would only make him sad.

However, he liked to re-read his other stories a lot, and fix any mistakes he could pick out. He'd only posted about 10, even though he had written around 40. He just couldn't post it until he could read through it without having to fix anything. Some would call him a perfectionist; he'd call him a guy who knows his mistakes. Leo heard heavy breathing. He looked up from his lap, at Raph and Miles, then blushed and immediately looked down again.

Kennedy and Sam were absorbed in the book, and Karai was staring at the TV, so he was sure that he was the only one that saw the kiss. It wasn't that it was gross, it was actually rather… sensible? But, Leo had never been one for PDA, which was why he hated it when April and Casey showed it. He didn't want to start an argument, or embarrass Raph, so, he kept his mouth shut and tried to focus on the movie. It was about half way over, he believed, and he didn't understand anything of anything that was going on. He only saw the girl with the short hair and the boy with the neat hair kissing. Then he saw the old typewriter and the scene made sense. Leo looked down at his lap again. Did everyone have to be making-out these days?

Karai was trying not to look at Raphael and Miles, she didn't want to feel like she was eavesdropping or snooping, but she wasn't exactly interested in the movie either. She liked the book, but the movie sort of ruined it for her. Then again, she wasn't interested in watching her brother make-out with another guy either. Karai had no issues with gay people, but she had never liked PDA, as un-Karai-ish as that was. She thought PDA made the kisses and hugs less special, made them feel casual and replaceable. She had always kept PDA to a minimum when she'd had partners, much to their disappointment. Small pecks on the cheek were okay, but no one likes to see a couple full on make-out in broad daylight. Unless they're paying.

Karai had seen Leo look at Raph and Miles. She wondered what he thought about the whole situation. Was he okay with Raph like this? He didn't seem to have an issue with it… he actually seemed quite neutral about it. Karai wondered if Leo would ever consider going down that road. Probably not, knowing Leo. He did seem to know what kind of… _affection_ he wanted most in life, and she did catch him staring at her chest and backside every now and then, but then again, she would often catch Kennedy doing the same thing. It was an inside joke they had, mostly. Kenn would yell out, nice bum, where 'ya from? And she would just laugh and say nice teats, be'cha beat meat.

Oh how she loved Kennedy and her twisted sense of humor. But there were those moments where Kenn would be legitimately checking Karai out. She had no issues with it, in all honesty, Karai knew Kennedy was lesbian, but she also knew she was demisexual. Kennedy hadn't found someone trustworthy enough to do sex with yet. Karai couldn't blame her.

Mikey had been on a nature walk when his gurgling stomach reminded him that he hadn't had lunch yet. He was walking back to Kenn's house slowly, enjoying the forest that surrounded him, but abruptly, for he was starving.

Mikey had always liked nature, especially since he lived in a city, so he didn't get to see it very often. Now, for their sessions together, he and Kennedy would mostly go on nature walks and just talk. After arriving at their destination, they would train for around one hour, and then break for 15 minutes. This would go on for about three rounds until they stopped to talk, about their childhood, mostly. Kennedy told him stories about Cliff and Tigerclaw when he was known as 'Tyler', and he told her about him and his brothers. Like, the day they found out Donnie was allergic to peanuts, or, when they found out Mikey was dyslexic. He'd gone to Donnie's toga themed birthday party dressed as a goat. And then they would laugh and take a break for lunch that Kennedy had always packed before-hand. The thought of food made Mikey's stomach grumble. He gripped his gut and moaned.

"Shh, easy does it, buddy, we'll get some food soon." He saw the lake house and dashed inside, stopping to give a wave to Splinter and Tigerclaw, who were sitting together in Kenn's back yard. He still was wary around Tigerclaw, but, he tried not to make it too obvious, so not to upset Kennedy. He wandered into the kitchen and opened the fridge. Steak, baked tatter-tots, the sauce Kennedy made, broccoli, milk, grape juice (which Kennedy had made for Sam), lettuce… ah, there it was!

Mikey took out the pizza slices and closed the fridge door. He then opened the freezer door and grinned. "Look what I found, Ice-cream kitty!" he held up his pizza. The feline slithered forward, sniffed the food, and mewed in acknowledgment. Mikey smiled and patted kitty on her head. She purred and leaned into his touch. Mikey closed the freezer door and sat at the table, quickly unwrapping the saran wrap and shoving the first piece into his mouth, not bothering to warm it up. He sighed as he chewed. Pizza had never tasted so good.

"Oh, hey! You're Mikey, right?" said a voice. Mikey turned his head and saw the older mutant turtle in the door way. He grinned and waved.

"Yep! And you're Miles, right?" Miles nodded and extended his arm. Mikey took his hand and shook it; that was what Kennedy had taught him to do. She'd also told him to say 'nice to meet you' after shaking hands with a stranger. Mikey let go of Miles. "Nice to meet you." Miles grinned.

"Back at you." He walked to the fridge and opened the door, grabbed some steak and a water bottle and looked at Mikey. "Mind if I join you?" Mikey nodded.

"Sure!" Miles sat across from him.

"Thanks, I couldn't take any more of that movie out there." He tossed the saran wrap into the garbage pail and took a bite out of the steak, not bothering to use silverware. Mikey looked over his shoulder out the window at the living room. He could only see Kennedy and the little turtle, Sam, he believed was his name. They were reading a book. "Kenn and Sam wanted to read the book, like crazies, and the rest of us were watching the movie. Too chick-flick-y for me," Miles said. Mikey turned back to him.

"What movie?"

"The Perks of Being a Wallflower." Mikey had heard of that movie, but he'd never watched it. He'd heard about the book too, but Leo had told him it was too advanced for him, so, he hadn't bothered. Leo did read a lot more than Mikey did, after all, so, he probably knew what he was talking about. Mikey took another bite of pizza.

"Oh. I've heard of that one, never seen it."

"Don't bother to," Miles scoffed. "Save your attention for something worthwhile." Mikey lifted a brow, slightly repulsed by Miles' bitterness, but forced a smile and a shrug.

"I'll do my best," he said. Miles nodded, and then grinned while staring at Mikey. Mikey looked at the table, trying not to feel uncomfortable. He could _feel_ Miles watching him. He glanced up, Miles was still staring and grinning, back down again. Something felt off, very, very off. He watched Miles observe him, his eyes danced up and down his body, stopping a little lower down. Mikey looked out the little window. Kennedy and Sam were gone. Miles stood up and strode slowly towards Mikey, stopping in front of him. Mikey tried not to make eye contact.

The movie had been over for some time, but Karai hadn't moved. She didn't want to disturb Leo, who had fallen asleep on her shoulder. She wasn't sure how she felt about it. She wasn't really _uncomfortable_ , so to speak, just, unsure. Which did make her slightly uncomfortable. But it wasn't Leo, it was her. She didn't know how she felt about where his hand rested, or how close his mouth was to her neck. His hand was on her upper leg, very close to a certain place she did not want to mention. Karai knew that if Leo was awake to see this, he would be beyond embarrassed and remove his hand and face immediately, but, did she really want him too? As she thought before, she wasn't uncomfortable, but would he be? Perhaps that's what had her so unsure, if Leo would approve? He'd said he was over his crush on her, but… with the way he acted, and what he said and did for her, it made his claim difficult to believe.

Karai wanted to believe him, it would make her life so much easier. To just believe he was over her, if she did, he eventually would too. She felt his hand tighten around her thigh, and he moved his head on her shoulder, almost like nuzzling, and made a quiet moan before he was snoring again. Karai was surprised at how comfortable she was. Leo had just nuzzled her, and she didn't mind. In his sleep, no less, but she still didn't mind. Sure it made her blush, and she felt her heart beat a little faster, but she didn't mind.

Karai had thought about liking Leo… possible crushing on him. She really had thought about it, but she was very bad at detecting real crushes. She could fake a crush, no problem, but real crushes? She'd never been good at those. She asked Kennedy for advice once, and Kenn had grinned and given her a 'Love Quiz' to take. Her results had come up with an 'Unsure Squish'. Kennedy had to explain to Karai what she meant by a squish. She sighed.

Karai tried to think about whenever she had thought about Leo, when it wasn't necessary. She had, in fact, thought about what his favourite pizza topping would be when Mikey had tackled Tigerclaw for that last piece of pizza at Kennedy's 'impression brunch'. She'd also wondered if he was so good with Sam because he had to take care of his brothers like that when he was younger. And, she recalled, just a few minutes ago, she'd wondered if he would be comfortable with his position if he were conscious.

Kenn had told Karai that if she dreamt romantic things about someone on several occasions, it could imply a crush. Karai thought back to about three days ago when she'd had that dream about her and Leo walking down the side walk in New York City. They were talking in her dream, but Karai didn't remember what about. She recalled that when Leo had taken her to a hill near the end of her dream, he'd put his arm around her because she was cold, and they saw a shooting star. Karai was fairly certain that counted as romantic. But she'd only had the dream once. But if had felt so real…

"You know you can wake him up, right?" Karai jumped at the sound of Raphael's voice. She'd forgotten she wasn't the only one awake in the room. Karai looked at Raph's disapproving face, but didn't have time to respond, for her jump had woken up Leo. He moaned and slowly raised his head, rubbing his eyes with the hand that was on Karai's thigh earlier.

"Uhg… what happened?" Leo groaned and looked around the room. His gaze was different, as if there was a shield in front of his eyes that prevented him from seeing anyone, anything. He was staring at Karai, but he wasn't looking at her.

"You fell asleep in the middle of the movie," Raph said. Leo looked at him, and then yawned.

"Oh." He stretched, and his hand touched Karai's shoulder as his arm moved behind her back. Leo noticed where his arm was and quickly pulled it back, blushing. "Sorry," he said. Karai offered a small smile to say it was okay.

"Hey guys, what did I miss?" asked Miles as he returned from the kitchen. Karai watched Mikey walk quickly out of the kitchen, disappearing into the hallway. Karai thought she saw him covering his mouth and looking quite sick… maybe he caught Kennedy's bronchitis? But why would he have been in the kitchen for so long if he had to vomit…? With Miles no less, they barely knew each other. Miles plopped down next to Raph, being careful of how close they got this time, and looked at the TV. "Where are Kennedy and Sam?" Leo looked around the room, equally as confused.

"They went to Kenn's art room to do some crafts," Karai said. She wondered if Mikey was okay; he looked pretty upset. Maybe she should check on him? Just to make sure he was okay. Karai searched for an excuse to leave.

"What are you all still doing up?" came Splinters voice from behind them. Karai all but jumped out of her skin, Leo yelled, Raph twitched like he was having a seizure, and Miles glanced up like he'd just woken up. Splinter eyed them all before adding: "It's almost 12:00 at night." All eyes went wide. Karai looked at the clock above Kennedy's fireplace. 11:53pm. _Whoa_. "You know Kennedy is waking you boys up at five, right?" Leo went wide-eyed all over again. Raph nearly fainted.

"What?! Why?!" they cried in unison. Karai looked at Splinter.

"Doesn't that ssseem a bit early?" Splinter sighed.

"She wants to train with them." Karai knew then that there was no arguing with Kenn's time choice. She made an 'O' shape with her mouth and nodded.

"Never mind," she said. One by one, they left to go to bed. Miles went to look for Kennedy to ask where he and Sam should sleep. Karai was at her door when she stopped and remembered Mikey. She still had time before tomorrow… maybe she should check on him? He really didn't look very good… Karai walked abruptly down the hall to the main bathroom. The light was on. She could hear noise, like panting and gagging. Karai was suddenly self-conscious. What if she was interrupting something she _really_ would regret interrupting? Another gag, followed by what sounded like a sob. _Too bad_ , thought Karai, and she knocked on the door. There was a startled yelp. Karai instantly knew it was Mikey in there, because after the yelp, she heard a startled:

"Don't come in!" in a very strained voice, so high-pitched it could only be Mikey. Karai sighed and cleared her throat.

"Mikey, it'ss Karai. Are you okay?" she could hear noise, but she wasn't sure if it was sobbing or puking. Sobb-uking?

"I'm fine…" he coughed and Karai heard noise that was clearly vomiting. Karai lifted a brow.

"That's not what 'fine' soundsss like, Mikey. I'm coming in." Karai slipped inside the bathroom and nearly vomited herself when she saw Mikey. He was lying next to the toilet, his head halfway in, and jerking forward occasionally. There was some vomit by his foot. And some nasty looking clear white-ish vomit in the sink. Karai closed the door behind her and approached Mikey. He turned his head to look at her. His eyes were bloodshot and his mask was tear stained, he had some of the white vomit on the side of his mouth still.

"Go away…" he sobbed, sniffled, and turned back to the toilet and vomited again. Karai slowly got closer to him, being careful not to startle him, and put her hand on the back of his neck. He was hot, but not fever hot. He sniffled and tried to look at her again, but another jerk interrupted him and he vomited again. Karai put her hand on his and sat with him until he stopped puking.

Eventually, he calmed down enough to get his head out of the toilet. Karai had Mikey lie on his side and put a damp wash cloth on his forehead while she cleaned up the mess. He would cry quietly while she cleaned, with the occasional hiccup. Karai finally got to the white vomit in the sink. It smelt different from the other vomit… abnormally different. In fact, it didn't even look like vomit, it looked like watery pudding. Karai scrunched up her nose and turned the tap on. The white liquid swirled down the drain and she wiped off the rest with a paper towel. She then went back to Mikey. He hadn't moved.

Karai took the wash cloth off Mikey's head and wiped around his mouth, where some of the white vomit still was, and she rinsed the cloth off in the sink and hung it on the towel rack. She then walked back to Mikey and helped him sit up. He was still crying. Karai kept a hand on his shoulder. She was surprised at how well she was handling the situation. "Mikey, what happened?" he wasn't looking at her, just at the floor, crying and whimpering to himself. Karai moved her head so he was looking at her. "What happened?" she asked more sternly this time. Mikey shook his head rapidly.

"Nothing!" he shouted, and began to cry again. Karai sat in front of him, still with a hand on his shoulder. She waited patiently for him to let it out. Eventually, he calmed down again, and was gasping in air in quick breaths. He looked up at Karai and wiped his eyes. "Can I have a smoothie?" it was the most random question, Karai had to hold back laughter and instead asked:

"Why do you want a smoothie?" Mikey sniffled.

"I just wanna have something that tastes good…" so, Karai helped Mikey to the kitchen, sat him at the table and made him a strawberry banana smoothie. He gulped it down in seconds, and once it was done, he started to cry again.

Karai didn't think she'd ever felt worse for anyone in her life. She pulled a chair next to him and put her hand on his again. She also handed him a tissue. He took it and whimpered a 'thank-you' while he cried. Once again, he eventually calmed down, but once again, the tears never really stopped falling.

"Mikey?" Mikey sniffled and glanced up at Karai again. "Will you please tell me what happened?" Mikey squeezed his eyes shut and slumped his shoulders forward, still crying.

"I-I… I can't tell anyone…" Karai held his hand with both of hers.

"Why not?" Mikey wiped his face before answering.

"He said he'd hurt Raph…"

"Who?"

"Miles…" Karai tilted her head to the right.

"What? Why did he…? What did he do?"

"I can't tell you." Karai sighed and waited until Mikey looked at her before speaking.

"Mikey, you can tell me. I want to help you. If Miles did something that upset you, I want you to tell me, be honest. Remember, act how you feel?" Mikey wiped his eyes.

"I am acting how I feel…"

"Then tell me why you feel this way." Mikey looked at Karai for about three seconds, then flung himself at her and trapped her in a hug while he sobbed. Karai was stunned. She nearly fell out of her chair. She'd never been good at hugging, much less hugging _and_ comforting. She found herself returning the hug, and placing her hand on the back of Mikey's head, guiding him onto her shoulder. "It's okay, Mikey," she whispered. To her shock, he actually calmed down a fair bit. Apparently, she was better than she thought. "Tell me what happened." Mikey sniffled and nodded into her. His words were muffled, but Karai could hear him.

"I-I-I was… just… having lunch… pizza… then… M-Miles came in and… sat with me… 'Save your atten-attention for something worthwhile' he said… and then… and then he…" Mikey's grip was becoming tighter on Karai. "He… he… sorta, grabbed my hand and… started… like… kissing and licking me…" he sobbed again. "Up my arm… I told him to stop and he bit me…" Karai was afraid about seeing where this was going. "He-he… touched me… and-and he made me touch him!" he was sobbing more than talking. Karai felt sick to her stomach. No wonder he had been so upset and sick… "A-and he… made me… p-put his… in my mouth…" and that was all he could say before the tears really came. Karai almost vomited right there. So that was what the white stuff was, he must have spit it out into the sink… that must have been why Mikey was covering his mouth when he left the kitchen. And the stuff leaking out the corner of his mouth… Karai held Mikey tighter.

"That's terrible, Mikey, why didn't you stop him?" he sobbed.

"H-he said he'd tell on Raph… and that he'd say it was me…"

"Tell on Raph?"

"For being his boyfriend." Karai nodded. So, her brother, Raphael was gay after all. Why wouldn't he want anyone to know? It wasn't like Splinter or anyone would care, he's still Splinters son, her brother, why would he think him being gay would change that?

"Why doesn't he want anyone to know?"

"I don't know…" Mikey sniffled. "I can't… let him… hurt my brother… I want Raph to be happy…" Karai put her hand on Mikey's cheek and made him look at her.

"Mikey, this is a serious thing. We need to tell someone about this-" Mikey's eyes went wide.

"NO!" he began a tearful hyperventilation. Karai jumped at his outburst, and waited patiently for him to calm down again. "N-no one… can know, he'll hurt-!"

"Mikey, I'm telling you, this isn't going to go away if we don't tell someone. Preferably Splinter or Kennedy."

"No! I can't tell, I-I wasn't even supposed to tell you!"

"Mikey, we have to-"

"No! He'll hurt Raph!" he was screaming, and practically choking Karai he was hugging her so hard. "Don't tell! Don't tell! Don't tell!" he wouldn't stop. Karai tried as best she could to silence him.

"Mikey, Mikey shh! Relax, it'sss okay, it'ss okay…" she was surprised no one had come bursting in yet. "Shh, you're going to wake up everyone, then we'll have to tell…" that got him quiet. "Calm down… try to relax…" he was trying, he really was. Karai held both of his hands him either of hers and looked at him in the eyes. "Okay Mikey, I'll make you a deal." He nodded slowly. "If he leavess you alone from now on, and never botherss you or threatensss you again, I won't tell anyone, it'll be our sssecret, okay?" Mikey went wide eyed and nodded, smiling and crying still, thanking Karai through tears. She silenced him. "But," that got his attention. "If he does it again, you come tell me, and I'll take care of it, okay?" Mikey nodded after a pause. Karai gave his hands a reassuring squeeze. "Hey, you're my little brother, it's my job to protect you. You promisse to tell me if he doess it again?" Mikey sniffled and nodded.

"Uh-huh," he said. "C-can I have a glass of water?" Karai smiled and pat his head.

"Of coursse." She filled up a glass for him and walked him to his bedroom. Mikey had laid in his bed and cried for a little while longer. Karai stayed with him until he fell asleep.

Casey was having difficulty falling asleep, as he often did on Thursday nights. Thursday was the day Raph had come out, the day he'd kissed him. Casey remembered every detail of the kiss, as much as that creeped him out. He remembered how hot Raph's lips had been, how gentle his touch was, and how bad Casey had felt. He was straight, and his best friend was in love with him. And he had to break him by telling him so.

It wasn't until that point that Casey Jones had truly hated himself. Raph had sacrificed their friendship because he loved him… but, they were still friends, weren't they? They should be, so, why did Casey feel a pang of jealousy when he saw Raph with that Miles guy? He should be happy, because Raphael was happy, so he should be too. But he wasn't. Casey Jones was far from happy.


	10. Chapter 10

TMNT The Glasses of Life

Chapter 10

 **CONTAINS MATURE CONTENT: RATED MA! Yeah it happens again and almost escalates, don't like, don't read.**

Roll call was early, as Splinter had said it would be. Raphael was sitting against the wall in the back yard, with Miles, while he waited for Kennedy to wake up Mikey. Leo was sitting to his right, and Donnie was to Leo's right. April and Casey were on the bench Kennedy had by her house. Splinter and Tigerclaw were standing by the pond Kennedy kept, looking at her fish and frogs. No one had seen Karai yet. Raph had asked Leo about her and he claimed he hadn't seen her. Sam was still asleep.

"Come on you two, be lively," Kennedy said from her back doorway. All heads turned to her direction, as she pulled Mikey and Karai out by their wrists. Both looked extremely under-rested. They sat farther away from the group… together. Raph watched with a frown. "Okay Splinter, Ty, let's get cracking," Kennedy said, and motioned for the duo to go to her. They did, and she stood in between them, with her hands on her hips. "Okay guys, and gals, this is a day that we're going to practice fighting my power." She went on to explain that she would be splitting them into groups of three, one to train with Splinter, one with her, and one with Tigerclaw. Each had been informed on what to do against Kennedy's power.

"Okay, Karai, Mikey, Miles, go with Splinter." Miles stood and walked towards Splinter, after giving a smile to Raph and a pat on the hand. Karai helped Mikey up and they walked to Splinter as well… they stayed very close together. "Raph, Donnie, April, you're with me." Raphael stood and walked with Donnie to Kennedy.

"What's splitting us into groups gonna do?" Raph whispered to Donnie, slightly edgy. Donnie shrugged.

"I guess it'll just be faster. And hey, April's in our group!" Raph groaned. Suddenly he felt like they were sixth graders assigned groups for a project no one cared about.

"And lastly, Blue, Jones, go with Ty. Sam will join once he wakes up." Raph watched Leo and Casey stalk towards Tigerclaw. "Okay, let's get this show on the road!"

Raph, Donnie and April had been with Kennedy for almost five hours, practicing positions, advanced movements in the art form, watching her levitate objects with her mind, listening to her talk about mental strength and pretty much anything else she could think of that was 'important'. She was currently working with April on how to focus her power more effectively.

"Deep breaths, April. Inhale, exhale…" Raph could tell by the look on her face that April was getting annoyed. If Kennedy could too, she was doing an excellent job of ignoring it. The girls were sitting cross-legged across from each other, a bit further from Raph and Donnie, who were supposed to be sparring with each other, but found Kennedy and April's training more intriguing. "Breathe in, breathe out… now, focus on me. My eyes, hands, anything you want." April stared at Kennedy's face. "Okay, now, what am I thinking?" April stared at Kennedy for a long time, she shifted her positions a bit until she finally spoke.

"I… I'm seeing… not water, but a flowing motion…" Kennedy nodded.

"Good, good, go on," she persisted. April tilted her head and breathed twice.

"Hm… I think… I see…" she tightened her grip on Kennedy's hand. "… Music notes?" Kennedy smiled.

"Yeah?" April took more deep breaths.

"… Uh… someone with tape over their mouth…" and then she flinched backwards. "Th-that's it… the… the vision's gone blank…" she was sweating and panting. Kennedy handed her a water bottle and sighed.

"Well, you got a picture of the lyric to the song I was thinking about. Close enough, I guess." Kennedy sighed again and spread her legs, stretching to her left. "This is a good way to regain some energy after using the power." April copied Kennedy's movement and took deep breaths, as Kennedy had nagged her to do. Raph and Donnie were absorbed in watching.

"One of the things Kennedy talked to me about teaching you is multi-tasking," said Splinter to Karai, Mikey and Miles, who had been giving Mikey some very inappropriate looks and signs behind Splinter's back. Karai was sitting in between them. "The most common exercise is rubbing your stomach while patting your head, I'm sure you've all heard of it." The trio nodded. "Well, I have come up with a twist," Splinter said, with a hint of smugness. "I'm sure you're all familiar with the egg and spoon race?" Miles groaned and rolled his eyes. Karai and Mikey nodded. "Good. And I'm sure you've all tried to hop across a river," he pointed to the stream nearby. "On logs and stones, correct?" Miles propped himself up on his elbows and let his eyes droop. Karai and Mikey nodded again. Splinter smiled slyly. "Good. I'm sure you all can assume what we will be doing?" Karai and Mikey nodded and stood.

"Please," Miles scoffed. "This is what Kenn wanted us to do? This is _too_ easy." Splinter kept his face stone, with a hint of slyness, a look Mikey knew as trouble.

"She told me you would say that," Splinter said. "Which is why, I wasn't finished." He walked to a tree, and from behind it, he pulled out some ankle and wrist weights, and tossed them at Miles, who caught them easily. He then tossed a pair at Karai, then at Mikey. He was less forceful with their weights then with Miles'. "You will be hopping across that stream, with an egg and spoon in your mouths, while rubbing your stomachs and patting your heads, while wearing those extra weights." Splinter waited for them to put on the weights. Miles complained for the first ten minutes that this was a 'stupid exercise' and that Kenn had 'lost it', but gave in eventually once Splinter threatened to tell Kennedy he was questioning her. Once they had attached the weights, Splinter handed out spoons and eggs to each of them. They stood in front of the stream, spoons in mouths, weights on ankles and wrists, hands on head and stomach, feeling quite silly. "Begin!"

And they were off. Miles made a powerful leap and landed on a second rock. Karai stepped onto the rock closest to her. It wasn't a race, after all. Mikey stumbled onto a rock, teetered, but caught his balance. He made himself speed up, and he nearly fell into the stream. Karai caught his wrist to balance him; Splinter never said they couldn't help each other out, after all. Mikey looked at her and tried to smile, but with the spoon in his mouth, it looked like the smile The Joker would make. Karai nodded and motioned for him to keep going. She was ahead of him, but she always waited for him to catch up before she got too far. It took them eight minutes to cross the river because Mikey kept dropping his egg, and Karai insisted on waiting for him, which she saw Splinter smile at. Mikey would only drop his egg because Miles was giving him some very inappropriate looks and gestures. Finally, after Karai glared at him until he took the hint; she managed to help Mikey across the river without losing focus. Splinter approached them afterwards.

"Well done, all of you." He looked at Miles. "Kennedy wasn't lying when she said you had the skill to back up your arrogance." Miles went wide-eyed, but then hid his shock with a grin and a shrug.

"Eh, she knows I'm good, I'm surprised she chose something as easy as this," he said and gave a smug grin to Mikey and Karai. Splinter scowled and took a breath.

"Michelangelo, that was decent for a first try, but we'll need to work harder next time."

"Father, may I suggest something?" all eyes were on Karai, wide. Splinter cleared his throat.

"Of course." Karai nodded as gratitude.

"Mikey and I didn't get very much sleep last night, as you know, and I doubted that we could perform effectively today, but maybe if we tried one on one training sessions he'd feel a bit more…" she raised her middle finger at Miles behind her back before continuing. "… comfortable." Splinter nodded while stroking his goatee, and placed a hand on Mikey's shoulder before answering.

"Yes, you might be right. Perhaps you could talk to Kennedy about giving you an earlier warning so you all can get good sleep?" Karai nodded. "And… I'll ask about one on one sessions. For now, I think we could all use a break."

Leonardo fell to his knees and clutched his injured leg. It's been five months, almost; the stupid thing was never going to heal! He felt rough paws pull him up.

"Come on, if you want to be able to help in the fight this time, you need to get used to the pain!" Leo winced and struggled to his feet, both ached in protest. They had been practicing endurance, enduring Tigerclaw's hammer punches and painful bites. Tigerclaw said that Kennedy said that physical endurance was much harder to master than emotional endurance. He said she said that if you have no issues with physical endurance, you'll feel like you're on vacation with emotional endurance. Leo felt another pair of hands on his shoulder, gentler than Tigerclaw's, and smaller.

"Come on Leo, it's just a little while longer, man." Leo nodded, keeping his eyes closed out of fear he'd cry if he opened them. With support from Casey, he stood. "You okay, dude?" Leo was breathing heavily.

"I'm fine," he hissed.

"Sensei, his leg is swelling, should I go get Kennedy?" Sam had joined them a while ago, and was desperate to help any way he could, which mostly involved him sitting in the grass and watching. Tigerclaw had refused to attack him. Tigerclaw shook his head and pat Sam's.

"You heard him, he's fine." Leo squeezed his eyes shut tighter and nodded. Casey helped him stand a bit straighter.

"Seriously Leo, I think taking a rest would be a good idea." Leo gripped Casey's shoulder and pulled himself up. He opened his eyes into slits. Sam was staring at him, worry danced across his face. Casey had a similar look of concern, but dulled. Tigerclaw was lifting a brow and staring at him, practically luring him into continuing on. Leo tried to push himself all the way up, but pain stabbed his calf and he screamed and fell to his knees again. Casey caught him before he fell, letting him down slowly. "You're not fine, Leo," he said. Leo didn't look at him, just glared at the grass, ashamed of his weakness. Tigerclaw was tapping his foot.

"Well, what will it be, boy? Can you go on?" Leo couldn't look at him, he couldn't see anything but his weakness.

"…No," he murmured. Tigerclaw nodded, a smile tugged at his lips. Not a taunting smile, but a relieved smile.

"A wise answer," he said. "Sam, go get some ice for him." Sam jumped to his feet and nodded furiously.

"Okay!"

Karai woke slowly. The forest was blurry, like ripples in a glass of water. She wiped the sleep out of her eyes, and her elbow hit something. She turned her head and saw that she'd been using Splinter as a pillow. How long had she been out? She looked up. The sky was still light blue, it couldn't be too late. She shivered, suddenly cold.

Karai leaned back into Splinter, who, in his sleep, wrapped his arms around her. She sighed and stared at the sky. Since the invasion, Karai had only talked to Splinter a couple of times, and she'd begun to wonder if she'd ever get to be his daughter, or just a girl who was friends with his sons.

A thought struck her suddenly, and she lifted her head and looked around her. Empty space. Where was Mikey? She looked again… and where was Miles?

Mikey had only left to go to the bathroom, he had to pee in the worst way. He hadn't left to be cornered by Miles, smooth-talked, touched. Again. Miles had approached him right after he'd cleaned himself up after doing his business; he'd grabbed his butt. Mikey had screamed and Miles had silenced him, he'd whispered things… Mikey had hit his face with his elbow, very, very hard. The blood trickled down Miles' face and he licked it in a seductive way, grinning evilly. Mikey had tried to run, but Miles was faster. He'd pinned him against a tree and kissed and licked his neck. That was when Mikey had started to cry, begging him to stop, of course that only resulted in a bite. He'd cupped his butt as he did so. Mikey couldn't silence his tears.

"Shh, hush now, turtle, it won't hurt," Miles purred. Mikey sobbed.

"S-stop it-" another bite. Mikey closed his mouth and held back and sob.

"Remember," Miles tightened his hold on Mikey. "This is our secret. It was. But you told her, didn't you?" he had his nose against Mikey's. Mikey tried to mask his shock and fear.

"Wh-wh-what? H-how?-" Miles silenced him with his mouth. Mikey squeaked in shock. He tried to move his head but Miles stopped him every time, cupping him tighter or biting his lip if he did. Eventually, Mikey gave up and sobbed as he let Miles tongue him. He pulled back and there was a string of saliva between their mouths. Mikey thought he was going to be sick. "You promised you wouldn't tell, Mikey," he whispered, his lips grazed Mikey's neck. "It's not nice to," his grip tightened on Mikey's bottom "break promises."

"I-it wasn't my fault, sh-she-" he was cut off by a sob when he felt Miles slid his hand across his hip, closer to… "No!" The slap was swift, like a cobras strike. Mikey found his cheek stinging, his heart racing, and the taste of blood in his mouth. He turned his head back to Miles, who had his arms pinned against the tree, and was pulling him onto the ground. Mikey struggled against his grip. Miles hurled him to the ground. He landed on his face. Sobbing still, Mikey lifted his head and spat a mixture of saliva and blood out in front of him. He felt Miles pull his arms behind him and kneel on his shell, making escape painfully impossible. "Miles, y-you don't have to- ack!" Miles had squeezed him. "D-don't have to do this… you have Raph, he'd be willing to… try…" he could barely speak because of the lack of air from his mouth and nose being crushed into the grass. Miles snorted.

"As if. Raph isn't as much fun, he actually wants it," Miles purred.

"But he loves you!" Miles cackled.

"Yeah, well, it's one-sided. I only agreed to date him because I felt pity for him. Poor ugly mutant," Miles sang. "Rejected by the humans. It's only natural."

"You're a mutant too…" Mikey choked out. Miles shoved his head further into the ground and Mikey wailed.

"Do you want me to tell on Raph?"

"No!"

"Then shut up and behave." Just as Mikey thought the scene would escalate, an unearthly roar ripped through the air, and he and Miles whipped their heads up. Mikey all but screamed with relief when he saw her, tall and powerful, her lip curved into a growl, her glare pierced Miles like he was a fragile balloon. Miles immediately let go of Mikey and stumbled backwards. "Holy Jesus!" the serpent spat acid at his face and Miles screamed and fell backwards. She slithered over to Mikey and he leapt into her, sobbing like a three year old after a nightmare.

"You… okay?" she rasped. He sniffled and nodded.

Later, after Karai had taken him away from Miles, Mikey sat in front of the river he had been training at, staring into space. He didn't know what Miles had tried to do, and he didn't want to know or ever find out either. He was just glad he hadn't, glad that Karai had stopped him before he could have, glad that, once Raph finds out what Miles did, he wouldn't ever want to see him again.

However, he wasn't glad that Miles knew he'd told, he wasn't glad that Miles was going to tell, and he wasn't glad that someone as awful as Miles was someone his brother loved; and someone who was going to break his heart.

Karai walked towards Mikey and sat next to him; she'd morphed back into her human form to prevent scaring him further. She put a hand over his and sighed.

"Mikey, do you remember what I told you if Miles did that to you again?" Mikey squeezed his eyes shut and hid his face in his arms. The tears came back when he nodded. Karai put her arm around his shoulders. "Come on, I'll go with you."

Kennedy had been attending to Leo's leg for almost two hours. She was grouchy because the injury had cut into her training time with her group. She would murmur "This is why you listen to me when I tell you I'm healing your leg." And "Why am I _always_ right?" occasionally while she worked, and Sam and Tigerclaw would nod in agreement, and Casey would keep his face neutral, and Leo would roll his eyes and keep staring at the ground. _Heal, heal._

 _Disappointment, fury, war!_ Her head screamed. Kennedy looked up with a lifted brow and pursed lips. She'd only heard that super prediction warning once and it did _not_ end well. She shuddered.

"What?" Leo asked, a bit snappy. Kennedy ignored him and kept staring at the path to deeper into the forest. Sure enough, out came Karai with Mikey not far behind her. He looked like he hadn't slept in days and had been crying for years. He was still sniffling and shaking. Kennedy stood with wide eyes.

"Mother of God, what on earth happened?" she was looking at Mikey when she said it. He looked down and squeezed his eyes shut. Tears slithered out. She looked to Karai for clarification. Her friend was staring back at her, she looked… angry.

"Uhg… Mikey?" Leo propped himself up onto his knees and struggled to stand. Casey helped heave him up-right. Sam cautiously took a step towards Mikey. Tigerclaw stayed back, but Kenn knew he wanted to know why Mikey, of all the turtles, was crying.

"Mikey, what's wrong?" Sam asked.

"Did we run out of pizza?" Casey asked. He wasn't taunting, which Kennedy found odd, but, she had other priorities. Kennedy noticed Karai's arm was around Mikey's shoulders. He was refusing to look up.

"He needss to talk to you," Karai said to Kennedy. "Alone." Kennedy lifted a brow.

"Did I do something?" Mikey shook his head and whimpered. Karai also shook her head, but less aggressively.

"No, you didn't do anything."

"Then who did?"

"Like I sssaid, alone." Mikey looked at Karai with wide eyes, and after staring back at him for a little while, she sighed and added "Plus one." Kennedy nodded and motioned for the duo to follow her. They walked deep into the forest where Kennedy had her Area. She called it an Area because shrine was too cliché, and alter was too subtle, and meadow was just over-used.

Her Area consisted of a large patch of long grass -perfect for hide and seek- a few islands of cut grass in between the long grass, and a couple swing and gazebo near the front of the Area. It was far from the house, but worth it for a good mediation. Kennedy motioned for Karai and Mikey to sit on the couples' swing. They did, and she joined them. "So," she began. "What's going on?"

"What do you think was wrong with Mikey?" Sam asked Leo. He shook his head, unable to answer. He'd never seen Mikey so upset before, except when, as Casey mentioned earlier, they ran out of pizza, and Kennedy was loaded with the food.

"Maybe he got yelled at or something?" Casey said. They did know from experience that Mikey did not enjoy being screamed at, but Splinter was a patient man, and Karai was much too shy to yell at someone like Mikey… Leo rethought that; 'shy' was definitely not the right word.

"Hey guys," said a voice. Leo, Sam, Casey and Tigerclaw looked up to find Raph, April and Donnie walking towards them from the old forest path. Leo waved, Sam smiled and Casey stood to greet April. Leo saw Donnie's expression fall. Raph knelt next to Leo. "How's the leg?"

"Slow," Leo grumbled. Raph laughed and sat next to him.

"Could be worse."

"Yeah, we could be fighting off an alien invasion and a psychopath that wants us all dead." He paused. "Oh, wait, never mind." Raph laughed and, after he failed to stay mad, Leo did too.

"Oh, boys, there you are," said Splinter. He walked out from the path with Miles behind him. He and Raph shared a look before Splinter continued. "Have you seen Karai and Michelangelo?"

"I told you, I saw them sneak off together!" Miles insisted, granting him Raph's immediate trust, and Leo's immediate suspicion. Splinter rolled his eyes.

"Have you boys seen them?"

"They went to talk to Kennedy," Sam said. "Karai said Mikey needed to talk to her alone, then they walked off. We're waiting for them!" Leo noticed Mile's jaw twitch.

"Oh… why alone?" Splinter inquired. They shrugged in unison.

"Dunno, but Mikey was pretty upset," Casey said. "Like, worse than when we ran out of pizza." Splinters eyes widened and he gasped.

"Worse?"

"Like, ten times worse." Leo noticed Miles slip away from the crowd, down the trail Kennedy and the rest had gone. Leo stood slowly and shakily, catching the attention of everyone.

"Where are you hobbling off to?" Tigerclaw teased. Leo gave him an icy glare before responding.

"For a walk, Kenn said it would help my leg." He walked down the path opposite to the place Kennedy went, but once he was out of sight, he cut through the shrubs and bushes, ignoring the nicks from the thorn bushes and stinging in his leg.

"He did _**WHAT**_?!" Kennedy was red in the face. Her fists were clenched so tight Karai thought she would draw blood, and she was trembling. Karai had never seen Kennedy so angry, Mikey hadn't thought Kennedy could get so angry, and Kennedy had never been so angry. It scared her. How could Miles do something so awful? Not just to Mikey, but Raph as well. He very nearly was in love with Miles, and he had the audacity to… Kenn couldn't risk thinking about it, or she just might've punched through a tree. Or a wooden plank. Or Miles' head. She took a deep breath and sat back down. "I'm going to kill him," she stated, calmly.

"What are we going to do?" Mikey had been quiet since he and Karai had arrived at the Area, so Kennedy was surprised to hear him speak. Karai had kept her arm around him the entire time. "We can't let him keep doing this, what if he tries it on someone else?" Mikey was looking at Karai when he said this. He turned to Kennedy. "B-but, we can't kick him out either-"

"The hell I can't, it's my house, I can kick whoever I want out, starting with Miles," Kennedy stated. Mikey's eyes widened and he grabbed Kennedy's shoulders.

"NO!" the tears had returned. Kennedy had receded as far back as she could without offending him. "N-no… Kenn, y-you can't… R-Raph loves h-him…" Kennedy removed Mikey's hands from her shoulders and held them. Mikey looked up at her sympathetic smile.

"He'll get over it, you're more important to him than any lover, and you know that." Mikey sniffled and nodded, quivering from trying to hold back his tears.

"I-I know but… b-but… h-he-"

"It'll be okay, Mikey, I'm not letting him do that to you again. I only wish you two would have told me earlier, I could have killed him _and_ burned the body by now," she joked. Mikey was not in the mood to laugh.

"Stop it, Kenn," he said. Kennedy lifted a brow and waited for him to continue. "I… I just don't want Raph to get hurt…" Kennedy sighed and put her arms around his shoulders. He held her and hid his face in her shoulder.

"It was bound to happen eventually, Mikey," he peeked up at her before she continued. "Miles does have a history of cheating… just not this way," _liar_ , she thought. "As far as I know, anyway."

"Bullshit," taunted a voice. Mikey jumped, Karai whipped her head around, and Kennedy burped.

"Well," she began. "I'd say I need to talk to you, but, I think you get the point. I'll be nice and give you 30 minutes to get as far away from hear as possible, and if you don't leave, I will-"

 **KABOOM!**

There was a bullet hole in the ground near Kennedy's foot. She hadn't jumped when she heard the sound, though she couldn't say as much for Karai and Mikey. She turned her head and glared ice at Miles. It looked like he hadn't taken his medication in days… and now the psychopath had brought a gun. Just what she needed. Miles suffered from anxiety and anger issues.

Mikey screamed and pushed against Kennedy, trying to run away. Miles leveled the gun. "I told you not to tell anyone, you promised me, Mikey." He let out a sickly cackle before continuing. "I told you it wasn't nice to break promise- move and I'll blow your brains out!" he had pointed the gun at Karai, who had attempted to sneak around him. She held up her arms half-heartedly and backed away a bit. Miles grinned like a demon. "You told him to tell her, didn't you?" Karai didn't react, she just continued to glare at him. He strolled nonchalantly towards her, sheathing the gun in its holder. "My, how the tables have turned-" Kennedy's knee connected with his gut. He gaged and stumbled backwards, but had no time to recover before Kennedy punched his jaw. She kicked his throat. She clawed his eyes. She stomped on his foot. It wasn't just a fight... it was a death match. Miles grunted at the impact of her kicks. He wouldn't win like this; Kennedy didn't care how you threatened her, she would keep fighting until she was satisfied.

He looked at the girl Kennedy called her best friend, watching, completely unprepared. He grinned, dodged Kennedy's kick, and fired rapid shots in her direction. While she was busy dodging the bullets, he sprinted towards the friend and Mikey. He watched Mikey's eyes go wide and he screamed. The friend stood in front of his and got into a fighting stance. Miles grinned, perfect. He flipped over the friend and trapped her in a head lock. He pressed the gun against her head and clicked the safety off to get everyone's attention.

Mikey had run to Kennedy, who was looking about ready to rip Miles' head off and serve it with dinner. "Anyone tries to make a move," he loaded the gun, and felt the friend gasp. "And the freak-friend bites the dust. If you all co-operate…" he tucked a lose strand of hair behind the friends ear with the gun. " _Maybe_ I'll be gentle for her _first_ time," he purred. He could practically see the steam shooting out of Kennedy's ears. _You sick bastard_ , she mouthed. He tightened his grip around her throat, and the friend winced.

"Stop! You're hurting her!" Mikey yelled. Miles' lips curved upward.

"Oh am I?" he tightened his grip again, this time, the friend gasped and chocked a bit before struggling against his grip. Miles pushed the gun harder against her head and she stopped. "Good, I thought maybe I was being too gentle." Pain hatched onto Miles' face. He stumbled a bit, and then a chop separated his hold from Karai's neck. Then, he kicked his face, and blood sprayed from Miles' mouth and nose. He screamed and fell to his knees.

"Threaten her like that again, and I _will_ kill you!" yelled a voice.

Karai felt hands help her up after she caught her breath and steadied her heart rate.

"Karai!" she opened her eyes and Leo's were staring down at her, worried as usual. "Are you okay?" he looked like someone had just told him the world was going to end in one hour. Karai was still out of it when he asked. She blinked and tried to clear her head. No pain… anywhere. She was fine.

"Yessss," she said, then she looked at Miles, and saw red. "Wait." She approached him, and nailed him right where the sun didn't shine. He screamed and fell over. She took a breath and smiled. "Okay, now I am." Leo smiled, and, to Karai's shock, trapped her in a hug. They stayed like that for a while. His mouth was right by her ear, so she heard him gasp before he let her go.

"Sorry… I'm just glad you're okay." He smiled sheepishly. Karai returned the sheepish smile and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, even though it wasn't loose to begin with.

"That'sss okay…"

"Well if we're all done falling into each other's arms, let's get moving before psycho-for-brains over there comes to," Kennedy said. Mikey nodded rapidly behind her. As if cued by Kennedy's warning, Miles began to stir. He struggled to rise, shaking, groaning… Kennedy walked abruptly towards him, a stern glare on her face. "Get back," she said. Leo and Karai obeyed.

"How did you…?" Karai began, but couldn't find the words to finish. Leo glanced at her, and shrugged, with that lopsided smile of his.

"When Splinter and Miles came looking for you and Mikey, Miles said you two ran off together. That was after you guys showed up and went with Kenn," he motioned at Kennedy. "Then, when Casey mentioned Mikey being upset… I… I noticed Miles' mouth kinda twitched, and he looked… like… like how an evil genius would look when they've hatched their 'brilliant scheme', you know?" Karai nodded. "I didn't trust him. Never did. But I didn't say anything because… well… I didn't want to upset Raph. And, I didn't really have anything to fall back on." Karai nodded and gave a shy smile.

"Well, we do now."

 **KABOOM!**

"Ah!" the trio whipped their heads towards Kennedy. She had fallen onto one knee and was grasping her upper leg. Karai and Mikey gasped in unison.

"Kennedy!" Kennedy rose and flung Miles backwards into a tree. She then turned to the group.

"Run, back to the others, hurry!"

"Are you _**crazy**_?!"

"The craziest."

"That psycho has a **gun**!" Leo yelled.

"I know what I'm doing! You should have learned that by now!" Kennedy motioned violently for them to run back down the path. Mikey ran first, Karai and Leo, second. Kennedy insisted on being last. "Keep going!" they ran with the sound of gunshots in the background. One landed right near Leo's bad foot. He screamed and jumped, nearly losing his balance. He felt arms coil around him and pull him back up.

"Come on, Leo, keep going!" Karai said, and pulled him by his wrist after her, running so fast she was nearly dragging him. He stumbled a few times. She pulled him back up each time. Kennedy was hopping behind them. Literally hopping. The gunshot was still bleeding. She would probably be touchy about her bloodstained jeans later because they were one of her favourite pairs.

 **KABOOM!**

"Ah!"

"Karai?!"

"I'm okay, I'm fine, it just scared me."

 **KABOOM!**

 **KABOOM!**

"Keep running, you two! You have got thi-"

 **KABOOM!**

"Son of a bitch!" Kennedy flung her arm back and a sound of shell against bark echoed through the forest. "Look up ahead! We're almost there!" Karai and Leo looked ahead of the path. Kenn was right; a big white opening was inches away. They burst through it, panting, sweaty, attracting the eyes of everyone who waited for them. Mikey had already run into Splinters arms, sobbing still. He held him, but his face showed shock.

"Leonardo?" to Leo and Karai's own shock, this came from Tigerclaw.

"Leo?" asked Casey.

"Dude, what's going on?" Raph asked.

"Karai, what happened to your side?" asked Donnie, sounding more shocked and worried than Karai was comfortable with. She lifted a brow.

"What are you…?" then she felt it. The pain was a dagger. She gripped her side and receded into herself. She felt his hands steady her. Karai looked back up at Leo's worried eyes. "Mm… must've… grazed me and I… didn't feel it, becaussse of the adrenalin or…" she took a breath. "… sssssomething…" she fell onto her knees. Donnie ran over and help Leo lift her up.

"What are you talking about?" demanded Raph. April and Sam just stared. Karai didn't say anything else, just gripped her side and murmured gibberish occasionally. Suddenly…

"Out of the way! Move it or lose it, folks!" out came Kennedy, with a less than stylish entrance after she tripped over a root.

 **KABOOM!**

 **KABOOM!**

"Jesus!" she scrambled up and ran towards the house. Donnie pulled Leo and Karai out of the entrance way and stayed close to Tigerclaw. He still didn't trust him, but, it would be an advantage to have a stronger adult to fight with.

"What the hell is going on?!" demanded Raph.

"What was that bang?!" yelled Donnie.

"H-hey, wh-where's Miles?" asked Sam. The hairs on the back of Kennedy's neck stood up. Raph suddenly looked anxious.

"Yeah, where is he?" he asked loudly. Kennedy didn't answer. "Where is he?!" Raph shouted.

"In five, four, three, two…" Kennedy didn't have time to say one, because rapid gunshots paved an entrance for Miles. He leapt in and shot at Kennedy, who dodged easily.

"Miles!" Miles froze. All eyes were glued to him. Some were glaring, some were horrified, some were shocked, one pair, was devastated. Miles looked around. No way of backing himself up now. He leveled the gun at Kennedy, to the horror of the uninformed. She shook her head and tsk, tsked him.

"Really Miles? And in front of your little brother too? For shame." He growled.

"Miles, what the hell is going on?!" Miles slowly looked over at Raph. "Th-this is some sort of prank, right? Why are you…? What's wrong with you?!" Miles stared blankly at him. Raph's eyes shone and he looked at Kennedy, his expression was one giant question. Kennedy shook her head again.

"Not the time, dude. He has a cht cht, BOOM!" only Kennedy could communicate with noises like that, and still walk away, a genius.

"He told," Miles growled. "He said he wouldn't…" for some reason, Miles was glaring at Sam when he said it, not Mikey. And Sam looked just as terrified as Mikey would have.

"Miles…" Sam began. "No Miles, no, please, not this again!"

"Shut-up!" he pointed the gun at Sam. He gasped. Tigerclaw growled, and Miles pointed the gun at him. "Move and I'll shoot your head off!" Tigerclaw froze. Miles didn't see the Shuriken Sam threw. It landed directly in his head. Miles didn't react, just ripped it out and hurled it back at Sam, who dodged.

"Stop acting stupid, Miles! Last time you got sent to Juvy!" Sam wasn't crying, just yelling. Miles spat and rolled his eyes.

"I'll act how I want, freak, and you can't stop me."

"What is going on?!" Raph yelled at Kennedy. She sighed.

"Fine." She looked between Raph, Miles, and Mikey, and was quiet for a long time. "Raph, Mikey," she pointed at Mikey. "Raph, Miles," she pointed at Miles. Raph lifted a brow. "Raph…" a long pause. "… do you know what molestation is?" Raph looked in between April and Casey- right to left- before answering.

"Yeah?" Kennedy pointed at Miles, then at Mikey, and then made a motion with her hands classified as 'shit happens' and said:

"And here we are. Also, it nearly escalated to R-A-P-E if you know what I mean." Raph stared blankly. "Miles did it to Mikey, FYI. Twice." Raph could only stare at Miles. He'd had a broken heart before, but this was different. It wasn't him letting his heart break; someone else was doing the breaking. With a sledge hammer. A fucking sledge hammer.

"Miles, is she…?" Miles looked away and aimed at Kennedy. She didn't seem the least bit worried. Raph didn't know how she could hide her emotion so well. How could she stand it? All Kennedy said was:

"Yep, he's a regular dingle douche, isn't he?" Raph's eyes flared.

"You fucking pervert! How could you do that?! What the hell is wrong with you?!" he could feel himself breaking. He felt arms restraining him.

"Whoa man, take it easy! Kenn'll take care of it!"

"How could you do that to him? To any of us?!" Raph bit his lip. "To me? I thought you were my friend!" another pair of arms held him back. These, he recognised. Casey. Miles laughed under his breath and pointed the gun at Raph. Raph's heart nearly beat out of his chest. Miles pretended to shoot the gun, making a "pow" sound under his breath, and laughed. Kennedy rolled her eyes.

"Sicko," she growled. Raph was fighting as hard as he could to get out of Casey and April's grip. He was breaking, his self-control was becoming non-existent. He shook, he clenched his jaw, finally, he shouted.

"You said you loved me!" at that point, everyone, even Miles, froze. Raph couldn't believe he'd said it, either, but, he had. Splinter was staring at him with an open mouth, wide eyes and shaky limbs. Too bad. This was more important. Eventually, Raph heard a voice. It wasn't Miles.

"Raph…" he looked up. Mikey was staring at him with tears in his eyes. "I…" he wiped his face. "I… I… I'm sorry… I tried to stop them, so you wouldn't…" he was cut off and turned back to Splinter again. Raph didn't have time to ask.

"As if I could ever love a freak like you," Miles scorned. He then spat out a very rude word at Raphael. It made everyone gasp. Raph stopped struggling and just stood, flabbergasted. Kennedy was shocked he had even gone there. Sam didn't know what the word meant. Karai glared ice at him, but Leo was the one who spoke.

" _What_ did you call him?" Miles turned to Leo and grinned.

"I called him a," he said the word again. And he was tackled to the ground, by someone no one would have expected to explode at Miles. But, there he was, throwing a combo of kicks and punches at his older brother, uncaring of what he may break. Miles leapt backwards, leveled the gun, and,

 **KABOOM!**

Sam dodged it with shocking ease and calmness, and threw another shuriken. It hit Miles in the plastron. Miles growled, sheathed the gun, and lunged at Sam. The duo was locked in combat. The others couldn't take their eyes off of it. Most were horrified, but, Kennedy found the fight hypnotising, not scary.

Sam had grown into an exceptionally good fighter with the help of Tigerclaw, she was thoroughly impressed. _Focus, Kenn, focus!_ Kennedy held out her hand and focused on Miles, prepared to throw him into oblivion, and then she felt it. The presence, stronger this time, it blocked the focus of her psychic powers! She focused more intently, and Miles began to levitate. _Good,_ she thought. Miles was flailing in the air, cussing and screaming that he would kill them all. Kennedy focused on his neck and slowly clenched her fist. Miles began to gag. She focused harder and Miles begun to flail again, gripping his neck. Her fist was fully closed, and Miles was coughing and gaging like a seal experiencing butt sex with an icicle.

Finally, she ceased her focus and Miles crashed to the ground. He hacked and struggled to sit up. Kennedy focused again, ignoring the block, and brought Miles close to her face, snarling like a dog.

"30 minutes. Starting now." She dropped him and pointed towards the forest. "Go!" Miles shakily rose and looked around the crowd. No one was going to help him, nota one. And even after he'd given Raph some pity love because clearly no one else wanted him. A gay mutant turtle? Good luck finding someone that desperate. Miles rolled his eyes and began to walk away.

"Bunch-a freaks," he muttered as he left.


	11. Chapter 11

TMNT The Glasses of Life

Chapter 11

It wasn't an easy night for Raphael. Everyone kept coming up to him and saying how sorry they were, and offering their support, and telling him he was worth better. And every time they did, he would say: "Go tell that to Mikey, _I'm_ fine, he's the one who needs support." But he wasn't fine. Raphael had never felt worse in his life. How could people be so heartless? Go around touching people who didn't want to be touched and not give a crap about their feelings or the affection of their lover… Raph flopped onto his bed and was quiet for a while. Then, he started to cry. Softly at first, then louder, more violent, until he felt he was crying out his heart so he wouldn't feel the pain anymore.

Miles had been nice to him. He'd said several things like how much he loved him, how special he thought he was, what a jerk Casey had been and how he was missing out. But… all that time… he'd been… Raph let out a racking sob as what Miles had done surfaced back into his mind. Sick. While he was being showered with love and compliments, Mikey was… enduring… and keeping quiet to make him happy… Raph gaged and bent over his bedside. He felt the threat of vomit in his throat, but there was nothing in his stomach to come back up. He sobbed into his pillow. Why was Miles so cruel? Now Mikey was scarred for life, he would never trust again, probably never love again either. All because he was trying to keep him happy... There was a knock at his door.

"Raph? Can I come in?" He instantly recognised the voice: Casey. Raph wiped the tears away, turned on his lamp, and grabbed the book he'd been reading before answering.

"Y-yeah." He cussed under his breath for stuttering. The door creaked and Casey entered. Raph pretended he was absorbed in reading his book. "Hey," he murmured half-heartedly. It was Thursday.

"Hey dude," Casey replied. They were quiet for a while. "… How are you doing?"

"Fine."

"You sure?"

"Yeah." Casey glanced around the room before responding.

"Okay, just wanted to make sure…"

"Thanks. See you tomorrow." It was Raph's way of saying _get out_. Casey nodded and stood, leaving his friend to grieve in peace.

He stalked down the hallway, his feet like lead, and entered the living room, stopping when he heard the music. Kennedy sat at the grand piano, playing some very soothing tunes. He paused. Should he disturb her? This was her house, after all, and she didn't exactly like him, but, he slept on the couch, and he was tired. Casey tip-toed into the room, planning on laying on the couch and closing his eyes before Kennedy could see him.

"Hey Jones," Kennedy said. Casey jumped. "What are you doing up so late?" she didn't sound harsh, but curious. Casey wondered if she'd taken a drink or two before coming out here.

"I was checking on Raph," he said. Kennedy nodded, appearing calm.

"I see. He doing any better?" _Okay, she must've drunken_ _ **something**_ _._

"Well…" he sighed. No point in lying, it was Kennedy after all. "No, not really." She lifted a brow.

"Odd, when I asked him, he said he was fine." Casey rolled his eyes.

"Believe it if you want. I thought you were a genius," he remarked and flopped onto the couch… Kennedy's couch. He sat up straighter.

"Believe it if you want," Kennedy began, mocking his tone, "but I'm not a real genius. I just study." Casey looked at her with a lifted brow. "A lot," she added. Casey nodded and turned away from her. "Well, maybe if you studied a bit- not as much as me- you'd be half decent at school." She shrugged. "Just sayin'."

"Just say how worthless I am while you're at it," Casey spat and scowled at Kennedy. She lifted a brow and shifted her position.

"I never said that, I was just lecturing you to put some blood into your brain instead of your hoo-ha once in a while." Casey looked at Kennedy like she had feet for hands. "Penis, hoo-ha is slang for a penis, bro."

"Oh." He gave himself a mental face palm for saying it out loud. "I put blood in my brain when I went to check on Raph!"

"And put it back in your ding-dong when you left him alone when you knew he wasn't fine." Casey opened his mouth to argue, then stopped. As much as it killed him to admit it, Kennedy, once again, was absolutely right, and he, once again, was absolutely wrong.

Karai sat alone on Kennedy's balcony. Her thoughts were blurry, but they always landed back on Mikey at some point. She couldn't help it. She wasn't all convinced Miles was gone. Even now, she stared at the forest, half expecting Miles to leap over the balcony with his gun and twisted smile… she shuttered. She hoped it would never lead to that, she didn't want to die with red hands but… if _anyone_ , especially that creep, _ever_ threatened _any_ of her brothers again… Karai looked at her palms and sighed. _So be it,_ she hugged her knees closer to her body.

"What?" Raph snapped. Casey opened the door again, to Raph's annoyance and joy.

"Hey… again."

" _What_ do you want?"

"Easy, dude," Casey said, and held up his hands in surrender. "I just want to talk." Raph groaned and closed the book he was pretending to read.

"What about?" Casey sighed in relief and sat next to him on the bed.

"I don't think you're 'fine', dude." Raph growled and threw his hand in the air.

"I _told_ you-"

"I know what you _told_ me, Raph, and it was a lie." Casey said. Raph stared at him with wide eyes. "You'd have to be heartless not to feel right now, and I know you aren't," Casey said, gentler this time. "So, why don't you just tell me?" Casey had never been good at 'talking', so to speak, but, he decided there would be no better way to learn. He waited patiently for Raph to respond. Finally, Raph sighed, stood, and said:

"Honestly?" Casey nodded. Raph punched the wall to his left as hard as he could. He hoped the cracking sound was just his imagination, because the pain sure wasn't. "I'm fucking pissed."

What if he only pretended to leave? What if he was under the balcony and waiting to attack Mikey? What if he'd come back for Raph? What if… Karai shook her head. _Don't think like that_. Miles was gone forever, not even an idiot would come back after a warning like that from Kenn. Karai sighed.

Why couldn't she be as strong as Kennedy? Or even half as strong? Kennedy was amazing at everything she'd ever done… it wasn't fair! Why was Kennedy so… perfect? It seemed like she could never fail, even if all the odds were against her. She'd held back the Shredder on her first try! It was amazing to say she even walked away from her first try.

She had never gotten a mark below 83% in her entire life, and she was in all of the advanced classes, even some university level courses. And they were her highest marks! Karai remembered Kennedy saying she'd taken a grade 12 class two years in advance, and still, she'd finished with a 98%. Writer's Craft, she believed it was. Kennedy had let her read some 'Before and After' stories from the class. There was a knock against the doors. Karai jumped. The doors opened and Leo poked his head out.

"Hey," he said.

"H-hey," Karai said back. She hoped she wasn't as flushed as she felt. Leo walked about half way out of the doors, then stopped and blushed and looked at Karai.

"Um, would you mind if I joined you?" she shook her head after a moment's hesitation.

"No." She moved over on the bench and Leo sat next to her. They sat quietly for a long time, looking at the sky of stars, trying not to look at each other.

Raph had started with tense words through his teeth, then he had begun to growl-talk, then he begun to yell, then he was screaming, and, lastly and least expected, he'd begun to cry. Casey hadn't known how to react when Raph had leaped into his arm and sobbed at first, but, after watching Kenn cope with it once or twice, he'd gotten the hang of it… sort of. Raph's tackle was unexpected, so, Casey had fallen onto the pillows. They lay there, arms around each other, while Raph sobbed into Casey's T-shirt and muttered hatred at Miles, and Casey let him.

"… H-how?..."

"I don't know," Casey answered before Raph finished his question.

"I… hate him…"

"You and me both, brother," Casey said.

"I-I'm an idiot…"

"No you're not," Casey said. "You didn't know."

"I-I trusted him…"

"I know." Raph lifted his head a bit and wiped his face.

"I-I sh-should've… k-known… better…" Casey could tell Raph was annoyed at how upset he actually was.

"You had no way of knowing, Raph, Miles is very good at-"

"I didn't mean that!" Raph stiffened, then pushed himself off of Casey and sat at the edge of his bed, rubbing the tears off his cheeks as he did so. Casey sat up and moved millimetres closer to Raph, cautiously this time. "I meant… to trust him like I did… it's too dangerous to trust like that… I should have known…" as Casey listened to Raph rant about how wrong trust was, about how rotten the emotions of the people of today were, etcetera, he wondered about his friends past. What was the story behind Raph's vendetta with trust? How many betrayals had he endured to leave him like that?

"Some people aren't that bad," was all Casey could say. Raph gazed at him with glossy eyes. His eyes looked much brighter when they were filled with tears. To his shock, Raph smiled and nodded slowly. Casey noted that there was a small scar on Raph's left eyelid.

"Yeah," Raph husked. Casey suddenly felt hot and uncomfortable. It was something about Raph's voice; he'd heard him speak in that tone before, but when? Where? Casey watched Raph swallow and exhale after a pause. He noticed that Raph was leaning towards him. He leaned backwards a bit, but froze when he stared at Raph's face. He'd never seen his friend so upset before. Raph's eyes were bloodshot, and still shiny with tears. The veins in his eyes matched his mask. He moved closer, and Casey didn't move away.

Raph's cheeks were also flushed from the many tears shed… but they didn't exactly match his mask. Closer. No movement. Their faces were inches apart. Casey felt Raph's warm breath on his nose, felt Raph's hand drag onto his, and grasp it. Then the other hand. Casey's own breathing hitched, and he nearly forgot to breathe when Raph moved closer, still. Their lips were one breath away. Casey still didn't move. Slowly closer. And then, Raph stopped leaning. His eyes darted up and down Casey's body before he jumped backwards like he'd been hit by an explosion.

Then Casey recognized Raph's previous tone; it was the same tone he'd used before he'd kissed him that first night. "I-I…" Raph began. His lower lip was quivering and his eyes were wide. "I… uh…" Casey extended a hand towards his friend, absentmindedly, but, Raph was too absorbed in his fear and sorrow to take it. "I-I'm sorry, I…" and then the tears returned, more violent than last time. Casey was frozen in shock. Raph had tried to do it again… same day, same time, but he'd stopped… Casey frowned. He would have let him do it, even if he was straight… _if_? A sob from Raph crashed his train of thought.

"Uh… Raph, i-it's okay," he tried to say, but he was so quiet Raph most likely didn't hear him. Casey inhaled, then, "Raph, it's okay, dude." He wouldn't stop crying. Casey frowned and replayed that sentence in his head. Raph was the last person he'd ever imagined he'd have to say _that_ about. Not to mention Casey was terrible at offering comfort… he didn't know how he'd even made it this far. Casey gasped. _Light bulb_ : but he did know someone who was great at giving comfort! And even though she hated him with a passion, she wouldn't object to helping out Raphael. He hoped. Casey knelt in front of Raph, who sniffled and wiped at some tears.

"I'll be right back," he said, then quickly walked out the door, down the hall, into the living room.

Leo didn't know how long he and Karai had been sitting there, but by the soreness in his rump, it must have been well over an hour. And he still didn't know how he should go about thanking her. Subtle or straight forward? She had a history of detesting either one. He sighed.

"Hey, Karai?" she turned to him. He swallowed before continuing. "Th-thanks. For what you did for Mikey." When she didn't respond, he added, "Y-you really saved him, there." She looked down. _Damn it,_ Leo thought. _I knew I should have gone with subtle._

"I'm not the one that saved him, Leo…"

"You were the first one he told," Leo countered.

"Because no one elsssse noticccced," she hissed. Leo recoiled a bit. He hadn't expected that much venom in her voice. Karai sighed and looked at him again. "That came out harsher than I wanted," she said, slightly ashamed, but not remorseful. Leo nodded and relaxed again.

"St-still, i-it was nice for him to have some support…" he hated that he couldn't hide his caution, but, Karai didn't seem to mind. "A-at least, that's what he told me," Leo said, and offered a grateful smile when Karai looked at him again. Finally, she smiled back and nodded. That alone lifted a huge weight off Leo's shoulders. They sat quietly again until a sound interrupted the silence. Leo and Karai looked at each other.

"Do you hear that?" Leo asked.

"Yeah," Karai whispered with a nod. They stood still and listened. The sound was coming from inside. Karai instantly tensed up. "What if it's Miles?" she whispered. Leo hugged the wall and motioned for Karai to do the same. He then turned his head towards her and leaned close so he could be heard.

"Full ninja mode," he whispered, and crept towards the doors. Karai watched him open them and crawl inside. She followed, louder than him due to the shaking. She and Leo were stationed on either side of the doorway to the mud room that led onto the balcony. They stared at the room Kennedy had said was a "fancy guest room", and through that doorway was her dance studio/gym. Now that they were closer, they could tell the sound wasn't a person, but music. "Is Kenn up here?" Karai jumped when Leo spoke. "Sorry," he whispered. Karai nodded in acknowledgment.

"No, she would have been in bed hourss ago. She sleepsss like, 12 hours a day in order to resst her power." Cautiously, Leo stood and walked into the room. He looked around, then his face flashed and he walked quickly towards a shadowy area Karai couldn't make out. "Leo?" she whispered, trying to ignore the foreignness of her own voice.

"No one's here, it was just a stereo," Leo said. A light flickered on. Even though it was only one bedside lamp, it was bright. Karai hissed and shielded her eyes. Since the mutation, she had become much more sensitive to light. "Sorry," Leo said. Karai squinted until her eyes fully adjusted, then gave a small smile to show she was fine. She then stood and walked next to Leo. Sure enough, it was a stereo making the noise. A very old one, at that. And it was a song Karai recognized, one she hadn't heard in years.

 _I will burn, I will burn for you_

 _With fire and fury, fire and fury,_

 _My heart hurts, my heart hurts for you_

 _Your love burns within me, with fire and fury,_

 _Whoa-o-a-o-a-o-a-o…_

"Hey, that's-"

"Fire and Fury!" they said in unison. Karai and Leo looked at each other in surprise.

"You know this song?" Leo asked. Karai nodded.

"It's one of my all-time favourites." Leo grinned.

"Mine too!" Karai smiled.

"Great minds think alike," she said. Leo laughed. They stood and listened to the song until it was over. And then it replayed. Both looked at the stereo, then at each other, and then back at the stereo.

"You know how to work that thing?" Leo asked. Karai shook her head. Leo shrugged and smirked. "Oh well." Karai giggled under her breath and stared at the bed as the song sang on. Kennedy sure had a lot of bedrooms. This one was the one that was most opposite of her style, in Karai's opinion. It was mostly white and cream, not a patch of blue or black in sight. Perhaps she'd meant for it to look like a hotel room? Even so, Karai doubted that a hotel room would have a dusty old stereo playing a Skillet song over and over again, with gold and brown and grey pillows and sheets. And a very nasty looking pink carpet. In fact, the room reminded Karai of her grandparent's house. "Didn't Kenn say she'd renovated this _entire_ house?" Leo asked, obviously as confused by this room as Karai was.

"Yess." Karai cursed under her breath for the slip of her snake speech. Leo lifted a brow and glanced around the room.

"Did she run out of money?" he laughed under his breath at the probable assumption. Karai shook her head.

"If she did, Trinity would have given her more." Leo tilted his head a bit. "Trinity was the adult that lived with Kenn before the invasion. She was on a two month cruissse when it happened."

"Ah." Leo looked down before continuing. "I hope she's not too worried. You know, about Kenn." Karai scoffed.

"Doubt it, Trinity let Kennedy do whatever, no matter how late or how long it would be." She paused. "Then again, Kennedy _is_ an adult trapped in a 17 year old's body. If she were my kid, I'd let her do what she wanted too." Karai shrugged. Leo was rocking back and forth on his heels before he asked.

"Uh… Karai? I know it's none of my business, but… do you know what happened to Kennedy's parents?" Karai gazed at him a bit before sighing.

"She did tell me… but she doesssn't like to be bothered about it. Ssso if I tell you, don't ask her about it, okay?" Leo nodded. Karai took a breath. "They died in a houssse fire, along with her brothersss and sisssterss. She got out before it was too late because she jumped out of her window…" Karai sighed. "And she took her favourite ssstuffed bear with her. The beat up looking blue one?" Leo remembered the stuffy Kennedy had back when she'd watched Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs with him and nodded. "Her Sssensssei found her covered in sssoot and passed out a few yards from the houssse…" Karai sighed. "She wasss five." Leo gasped.

"Holy…" he didn't know how to follow up. Karai nodded.

"She's was an inspiration for the rest of her time in Japan… no one really knew children could be ssso ssssmart… and girl children, at that." Leo lifted a brow.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Karai sighed again.

"Never mind, it's a long sstory." Leo wasn't convinced, but, he didn't want to push Karai out of her comfort zone too far. Not after all she'd done for their family.

"Okay," he said and looked at the floor again. He couldn't help but wonder what being a girl had to do with anything like intelligence. Kennedy was the smartest person he knew, she out did Donnie by a long shot. A scientist-artist-chef-kunoichi? Not many people shared the same title.

"Leo?" Karai whispered.

"Mm?" he didn't know why she was whispering, they were alone, after all. Karai glanced around the room.

"D… did you know about Raph… being… you know…" Leo gave a soft smile and nodded.

"I was the only one that knew," he whispered back, and paused to wonder why he was now whispering too. Karai lifted both brows.

"Oh… he didn't tell f… Ssplinter? Or his friend, um… what was hiss name?"

"Casey," Leo said, and shrugged. "Actually, when you look at it from a technological point of view… I guess Casey was the first to know." Leo thought back to their kiss and gazed sadly at the ground.

"Oh…" Karai whispered, and mimicked his action. "… That had to ssuck," she said after a while. Leo nodded.

"I don't think I've ever seen Raph cry like that before." He looked out the doorway and sighed. "At least, until today." Karai nodded and hugged herself, avoiding Leo's eyes. She hated that Raph had to endure so much pain… or maybe she hated herself for being unable to help him feel better? Like with Mikey… she hadn't saved him at all… because she promised not to tell, he'd almost been… she shuddered. "You okay?" Leo's voice asked. Karai turned and found him staring at her with arched brows. How long had he been looking?

"Fine…" she looked around the room for something to frame the shudder on. She noted the open balcony doors. "Just kinda cold." It wasn't a total lie, with the mutation she'd become very prone to chills and often found her hands a pale blue-ish colour when she was in her human form. Kenn had said it was no big deal, and that all reptiles got cold easily. Karai had rolled her eyes and asked her not to use the R word.

"Oh. Here," Leo said, and walked towards the bed. He pulled off a very large sweater. Karai stared. He stood next to her and draped it over her shoulders very carefully. Karai was certain he was trying not to touch her, which she appreciated, and was insulted by. She stuck her arms through the sleeves and zipped it up nearly all the way. She was only in shorts and a T-shirt, but she'd never liked the choking feeling of a fully zipped sweater. Once she warmed up, she extended her arms and examined the sweater. It was huge, to say the least. She knew Kennedy liked clothes that were too big for her, but this was a bit much. Leo noticed the size and cleared his throat. "Uh… you want me to find one that'll fit you?"

"No, I'm okay, thanks. Besssides, it'ss Kennedy, I don't think there isss one," she joked, attempting to hide her embarrassment at Leo's gentlemanly offer. Leo chuckled and leaned against the drawers.

"True," he said. Karai noticed that Leo was standing closer to her than before.

"So, let me get this straight," Kennedy began. "You didn't know how to calm him down, so you thought, 'hey, I'll go bug Kennedy, it's not like she has anything else to do!'" she motioned at Mikey, April, Donnie, Sam and Splinter at her bedside with an annoyed groan. Casey returned the groan.

"Look, if you don't wanna help him, then don't. I thought you cared more than that." He was half expecting her to slap him, but Kennedy only rolled her eyes and said:

"It's not that I don't care, I do, it's just that _these_ guys," she motioned to the gang that was crowded around Mikey. "Don't know how to handle themselves when it comes to stressful situations. Raph does," she paused. "To an extent."

"Well I don't know what to tell him!" Casey shouted. "He's so upset, he…" Casey looked down the hallway before whispering, "I can't get him to stop crying, Kenn. I don't know what to do…" Kennedy's expression softened and she looked back to the group before answering.

"Well, I don't either," she turned and walked back a few steps, then paused and turned back to Casey, and, with a very serious face, she said: "He's not _my_ best friend." Casey paused, then, to Kennedy's surprise, nodded and walked back to Raph's room.

Kennedy smirked to herself and went back to comfort the crowd. _I hope Leo and Karai are having fun with my stereo_ , she thought and giggled under her breath.

They had listened to Fire and Fury 14 times now, and it was still as magical as the first time. Leo had been tapping his fingers to the lyrics since the fourth time, and he noticed Karai taping her fingers to the piano parts on her thigh. He also noticed her hands and the pale shade of blue that covered them. He knew reptiles got cold easier, but that didn't seem very healthy, even for one. He certainly knew _he'd_ never gotten his hands that cold before. Then again, how would he know; he was green. "Do you want a blanket?" he asked Karai, but she was so into the song she hadn't heard him. Leo gulped and looked at the floor. Best not to pester her.

Leo leaned back further and thought about the new story he was working on. The main characters were Kyle, Cammie, and Tage (Tagentio), and it was to be a chapter book. Kyle was a cool and calm good-boy, Cammie was a hyperactive honors student, and Tage was a mysterious bad-girl. In the first chapter, they met Randy and Philip, a kickboxer and a kid genius, and they form a pact of friends with one thing in common, they hate their government. The story took place in 2025, a place of equality… or else. Leo had decided that the characters from his erotica story could be tied into this one as well; he just had to figure out how. All he knew for his second chapter was that his band of misfits was going to meet May, Teddy, and Taylor. He hadn't yet decided their labels. Although, since all of his characters were based off of his friends, it shouldn't be too hard.

"Leo?"

"Hm? What?" he shook his head into focus.

"Did you see Ssabey's new ssstory?" Leo almost laughed out loud.

"Yeah, I like it so far." Karai nodded in agreement, then frowned. Leo lifted a brow. "What?"

"I-it's nothing, it's jusst…" Karai was staring at the floor, frowning, with a hand on her chin, a gesture Leo recognised as Splinter. "The one character in his ssstory… Tage."

"Yeah?" Leo was trying not to sweat. Had he been too obvious with the character traits and personalities?

"Sh-she's _just_ like me. And I really mean _just_ like me, all the way down to the lip chewing thing she does as a nervouss habit…" Karai chewed on her lower lip as if to emphasise her point. "It'sss kinda creepy." Leo chuckled.

"It's probably a coincidence." Karai shook her head.

"It's not just this story, there was this one Ssspace Heroes fan-fic he wrote with Celestial's daughter and Captain Ryan's ssson getting together and…" Karai paused and chewed on her lower lip again. "Jessus, that one had ssso many moments that was like… like…" she snapped her fingers suddenly and looked up at Leo. "Like you and me! That'ss what it was like… when we first met!" she paused. "And when I threw that sword near your head when you were fighting that plant, and when Nova threw the plasma blade at Lyco's head when they were fighting the space mutant…" Leo thanked God his face was masked in darkness so Karai couldn't see his blush. "And… and that short sssstory he wrote about the long-lost brother and sister… I was like the brother in that one…" Leo prayed that Karai hadn't read the erotica one. "And… and that one erotica sssstory he wrote…" Leo slumped. Karai's eyes were wide and she looked pale like she was sick. "Okay, now I'm freaking out," she said with a hand over her heart. Leo took her hands.

"Karai, relax, Sabey, whoever he- or she- is, isn't stalking you or anything, I can tell you that much. Besides, Tage isn't exactly like you, she has blonde hair." Karai glared at him.

"Wow, what a huge difference, I feel so much better." Leo chuckled against his own will.

"Okay, bad example, but later in the story, we find out that Tage is transgender, and that she was a spy for the government they all hate, but, rather than doing the right thing and joining them, she sticks with the government to ensure her own safety instead of protecting her friends," Leo babbled. "Something I know you would never do." Karai stared at him.

"Well… no, but… Leo…?" he lifted a brow.

"What?"

"How do you know that? Sssabey only released chapter one…" Leo was sure he _felt_ his pupils dilate. He was cold and sweaty, hot and frozen. "Leo?" he didn't respond. How could he have been so stupid?! He felt like face palming but he couldn't move.

"Uh…"

"Leo? How did you know about-…" Karai gasped. "Oh my… are _you_ _**SaphireNightOwl**_?!" Leo gulped and hesitantly nodded. He was half expecting Karai to slap him for the erotica thing, but, she just laughed. Quietly at first, then louder. Leo cautiously glanced at her.

"What's so funny?" Karai sighed a happy sigh and grinned.

"Nothing, I'm just relieved!" she giggled again. Leo tilted his head. "That I don't have a ssstalker," she clarified.

"Oh," Leo said. He was still looking at the ground. Karai put a hand on his shoulder.

"Your sstories are very good," she said. Leo glanced at her through the corner of his eye.

"Th-thanks…" did she know they were about…? Karai offered a soft smile and, while keeping her hand on his shoulder, turned to face the doorway.

 _Let it all, fall, down to dust,_

 _Can't break, the, two of us,_

 _We are safe in the strength of love_

 _You can stop the aching,_

Leo risked a side glance at Karai.

' _Cause you're the one I need…_

He couldn't believe she didn't know his characters were based around his friends, his plots, around his life. He couldn't believe she wasn't mad at him. He didn't know why she would be, but, Karai got angry for no reason a lot. Especially when her personal life was involved in any way, shape or form. He nearly jumped when her head jerked up. _Here it comes_.

"Whoa…" she started walking towards the balcony. Once she arrived, her expression was awe-struck. She turned to him. "Leo, check this out," she said, excitedly, with no hissing, he noted. He lifted a brow. "C'mon!" she motioned for him to come closer. He hesitantly obeyed, and stood next to her. She grabbed his wrist and pulled him onto the balcony with her. Once he was out, Leonardo saw what she was so excited about, and gaped at it.

"Wow…"

 _I will burn, I will burn for you,_

 _With fire and fury, fire and fury…_

There, in front of his eyes, was a meteor shower. Not like the dangerous one that killed the dinosaurs, but a beautiful one. One that was too far away to do any damage, but just close enough to admire its alluring appearance. _Like you,_ Leo thought sadly as he snuck a glance at Karai from over his shoulder. She was hypnotised by the meteors.

"Beautiful," she whispered. It was a dance recital in the sky: a dance of falling stars, never to be caught or remembered again. Leo watched the twinkle of the tears left in the sky by the meteors. He watched the contrast in shining light and pitch black. But mostly, he watched Karai, and how amazed and happy she looked. That, to Leo, was the true beauty.

 _My heart hurts, my heart hurts for you,_

 _Your love burns within me, with fire and fury,_

 _Whoa-oh-a-oh-a-oh-a-oh…_

Slowly, Leo stretched out his arm and coiled it around Karai's mid-section. Very slowly, so to let her know if she didn't like what he was doing, she could stop him, if she wanted. But she didn't. When Leo's arm touched her hip, she simply took his hand, and moved it up a bit, so that he was touching her ribcage, and then leaned into him. Leo was sure his face was beat red when she, in turn, wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his shoulder. They stood quietly for a while, until the biggest meteor, followed by three smaller ones, flew across the sky, like air assassins on fire. They made a whistling sound as they passed, in perfect sync with the music in the background. Leo heard Karai sigh, and her grip tightened around him. He thought he felt her nuzzle into his shoulder.

 _Every brick, and every stone of the world we made_

 _Will come undone if I,_

 _If I can't feel you here with me,_

 _Whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh…_

"Hey, Leo?" she sounded half asleep when she spoke.

"Mm-hm?" Leo was afraid if he spoke he'd say or do something stupid. He felt Karai's grip tighten again, then she closed her eyes and smiled.

"Write about this some time, okay?"

"Stupid fucking bitch," Miles murmured as he tore his way through several shrubs. He felt a sting on his palm, and yanked it away from the shrub with a wince. "Shit," he murmured and a small trail of blood leaked down his palm. It had been a week and three days since Kenn had found out what he did and kicked him out. Stupid freak lover. If she thought she could win a fight with those softies to help, she was even dumber than she looked. Kennedy was book-smart, not street-smart. Miles grinned as he thought about his imaginary dungeon, and Kennedy as his torture doll, and her tears when he would finally get her to break. Wonderful… light!

Miles stumbled into the open and gaped. Sure enough, he'd found the city. It was a wreck, to say the least. Buildings burned, Kraang were everywhere, and… Miles tilted his head. There was a building, like an anti-church, that he's never seen before. It rose into spikes. "Huh," Miles said, and approached. He paid no attention to the shadows, or the abnormally loud wind…

"Get him!" Miles whipped his head around only to catch a glimpse of the black shapes that jumped onto his back, pinning him. Useless. He was so useless.

"Get the fuck off me!" he screamed.

"Shut-up, boy!" yelled a voice that he recognised. He turned his head onto its side to get a better glimpse of the mutant lackey.

"Fishface?!" the fish growled and, after taking out his taser, zapped Miles to unconsciousness.

The song I mentioned in this chapter is called Fire and Fury and it's by Skillet (look them up!) I like to reference music in my stories so there is plenty more where that came from. Wow there were several mistakes I missed the first time. I hope I got them all.


	12. Chapter 12

TMNT The Glasses of Life

Chapter 12

April and Kennedy sat cross legged in the field with Tigerclaw and Sam, meditating. April was surprised at how well Sam had taken his brothers… Kennedy called it an exile. April had later found out that it wasn't the first time Miles had been caught doing that. In fact, according to Sam, it was the fourth. The first two, Sam tearfully confessed, had happened to him. It was Kennedy that had caught him. She hadn't shared that information with Raphael because "he wouldn't have believed me for all the bots to smash in the world". The other time had happened to a girl at school. No one knew who.

"April!"

"Huh?"

"I've been sitting here, saying your name for, like, ten minutes." April looked around blankly. Tigerclaw and Sam nodded in agreement.

"Oh…"

"Yeesh, you were really in the zone," Kennedy said with a wink. April smiled and nodded. She and Kennedy had been study partners before the invasion, now they were… pretty good friends. Not as close as she was with Karai, but _no one_ could get that close. "Okay, now, I want you to tell me something." April nodded for Kennedy to continue. "Do you, or do you not focus better with music in the background?" April lifted a brow and nodded. "Okay. Can you sing at all?" April winced. Kennedy laughed. "I'll take that as a no. So, I suppose Siren's Song is out of the question." She laughed. "Hm… what is your most dominant psychic feature?" April looked to the ground and thought. There was that time she'd figured out the mutant monkey was Dr. Rockwell… and the time she'd heard the Kraang communication orb… and now that she'd gotten the chance to practice her powers a bit more… April gasped.

The night before they left her farm house, she'd had a dream, about seeing Kennedy with the guys… and Karai and Splinter… but that was all she remembered.

"I guess… sometimes I just, get a feeling about things… and I see things, sometimes…"

"Interesting," Kennedy mumbled. "Do these things often happen in the future?" April nodded. Kennedy grinned. "Looks like we've got our super predictor," she sang. April knew she shouldn't be surprised, but couldn't hold back a startled gasp anyway.

"Y-you think-"

"You're already having the visions, right?" April nodded. "Have you heard voices along with it?" Kennedy stopped talking, cocked her head, and sighed. "Why do I feel like I'm a shrink and you're a psycho?" April laughed and shook her head. "Not even remote sounds?" April tried to think of a sound, a voice, anything she might have heard in a vision.

"Oh! Yeah! When I found the Kraang communication orb, it whispered to me…" Kennedy nodded like it was a completely normal conversation.

"Like?" April closed her eyes and focused on the memory.

"I… I think it was saying: 'Come to me.'"

"Hm… that's SP slang for 'rarity.' Makes sense, since you found alien tech." April nodded like she understood. Kennedy sighed. "You're a terrible liar, kid." April blushed and shrugged as Kennedy continued explaining the laws of super prediction.

Casey and Raph sat together on Kennedy's bed-couch, watching Zombie Land, with hot chocolate and a blanket to share. Raph had fallen asleep half way through because of his lack thereof last night. No one knew what had happened between the duo, but, by the happiness that lingered in Raph's blush, it was something very overdue.

It was the third of September, a Sunday. It had been one week today since Karai had seen the meteor shower with Leo. They had met on the balcony every night after that to look at the stars together, and just, talked. It felt nice to Karai to have a friend… a different friend than Kennedy. Of course, Kenn would always be her best friend, but, she was friends with _everyone_ when it came down to it. Leo was different. There were some people that liked him, and some that wanted him dead. No one that was sane would _ever_ want Kennedy dead; she could always help everyone one way or another. Leo wasn't like that; he helped who he could.

Sky as dark as a demon's heart, Karai sat, watching the stars, waiting for Leo to show up as he usually did. Sometimes he would bring a blanket and pillow for them to share, and, on rare occasion, one of the stories he'd written and never let anyone else see. The thought made Karai smile and blush behind the shadows.

"Psst! Karai!" Karai snapped out of her trance and turned her head to look at Leo, who had his head peeking out from behind the wall. Karai's smile grew.

"Hey," she said. Leo grinned and walked onto the balcony, carrying a blanket and pillow with him. Leo spread out the blanket, set down the pillow, and knelt beside it, looking charmingly at Karai. He motioned towards the blanket. Karai giggled and rose from the bench and sat on the blanket. Leo sat next to her. He was far enough to not touch her, but close enough to be in her personal space. But he wasn't invading, Karai had opened the door of her bubble to him. Karai lay back, and Leonardo did the same. The closed their eyes and smiled in unison. "Hey, Karai?" Leo said after a long pause.

"Mm-hm?" he took a breath.

"Do you remember the meteor shower?" Karai wore a dumbfounded look.

" _What_ meteor shower?" they laughed. "What about it?"

"Remember when you asked me to write about it?" Karai went silent and she watched Leo move to lift something off of the ground. A notebook, designed with a peacock outlined in silver beads. Karai stared until Leo spoke. "Figured Kenn wouldn't mind if I borrowed one of her many notebooks to finish your request," he said, very gentlemanly. Karai grinned.

"I can't believe you actually did it!" Leo smiled.

"Of course I did, I'm not just gonna say yes then not do it." He opened the book. Karai was taken aback by his writing. "What?" he asked after she retaliated.

"N-nothing, it'ss just… I didn't know you wrote in cursssive," she said, and laughed at how such a small detail stood out to her. Leo cocked his head.

"How else would I write?"

"I don't know, I jussst…" Karai tried to think of how to say she hadn't thought Leo would have learned cursive, and such neat cursive at that, due to being a giant mutant turtle. "Nothing," she decided to go with, and smiled. "Sso… how long is the ssstory?"

"Two pages, front and back," Leo said. Karai noticed his smile felt different; like he was making himself smile. He usually did so with a grin, not a closed-lip smirk. Karai shook her head. Not important, probably nothing. She took the notebook and began to read:

 _If I had to choose between going blind and never being able to see her again, I'd use my last chance at vision to look her in the eyes and tell her she's beautiful._

Karai couldn't help but smile, she'd always admired the way Leo used personification. She believed that was what it was called, that or a metaphor.

 _She shined so brightly, so vibrantly, I was mesmerized. I wanted to reach for her, just feel the heat of her shimmering blush, but I knew I'd get burned, and she'd leave, so, I only watched. Watched and wished, but wishing hadn't been my friend for the longest time. No, it had been an enemy. A deadly enemy. When I sat on deaths door-step-_

Karai's expression darkened at the memory.

 _-I wished death would just invite me in. But he didn't, and I sat and waited for nothing. Enduring pain I would never wish on anyone I knew. But, as I stated earlier, wishing was my enemy. I have met three people who have endured my pain. Some, better than others. Harassed, they had all been harassed and destroyed by their abusers. One is a proud example of how to handle my pain- I say my pain because their pain is similar, but not the same- with grace and determination that tomorrow will be better. Another, a fine example of a positive outlook on life. The last; however, had no time to be positive, too many bad experiences ambushed her at a time._

Karai couldn't help but wonder the obvious.

 _I spend more time with the negatives myself, but, not many would know that, because I hide it, like squirrels hide their nuts for winter. I cannot let anyone see the negativity that lurks inside me, because I am the leader. If I can't do it, no one can. The burden often grows heavier than I like, but, a wise man once said, "It does not matter that the burden is heavy, it matters that you carry it."_

Karai read on. She was beginning to question if it was a story or a journal entry.

 _But, that night, when we were together, the burden was not merely lifted, it disappeared. Just, disappeared, thrown away like yesterday's garbage. Hesitantly, I raised my arm. She was so captivated, she didn't see. I sighed in relief._

Karai had never seen this much personification in one story before.

 _I watched her movements. She outshone all other stars, and they didn't mind, because she was too beautiful to hate. She did not rival any beauty, she was the very definition of beauty, in my opinion. She would disagree, that I know. She would tell me she's not beautiful, she's not special, and I would feel bad because she cannot see what I see. Beyond the outer appearance, although, that part is very nice, too._

 _I had a crush once, and I thought that girl was very beautiful-_

Karai smiled despite herself. He really was a dork.

 _-but this was not just as simple as a crush. I could not label this feeling, even if I tried. I don't think a word as powerful as love could even begin to describe the way I felt, the way I feel._

 _I slowly extended my arm. She didn't notice, just kept shining._

Karai lifted a brow: she hadn't seen Leonardo reach for the meteor.

 _I kept extending my arm, slowly, carefully, trying not to disturb her. May the Gods and my self-respect forgive me, my arm was around her._

Karai felt a hot blush explode onto her cheeks. She looked at Leo, but his head was turned. After staring at him and confirming that he was not going to look at her, Karai turned her attention back to the story. The entire time… she couldn't believe he'd been talking about her the entire time. Was he insane?! Why would… if he… how… Karai sighed. She didn't know how to react to it. She wasn't angry, but, she wasn't happy either, so, she just kept reading.

 _I know if her friend were here, the one that handled my pain the best, she would poke me on the cheek and whisper; "You touched the butt."_

Karai couldn't help but giggle. He knew Kennedy well, considering how little time he spent with her.

 _And I would pretend to find it funny and laugh with her, because I wouldn't want to upset her. We stood there for a while. I only know it was a while because I went to talk to her at 11:00pm and when I left and looked at the clock in my room, it read 3:00am._

 _But, in that moment, she was all I cared about. Her, and the song playing in the background. What song, you ask? No, I will not tell you. Why? Because if you are who you're supposed to be, you should already know._

Karai nervously read on, occasionally glancing at Leo, who still was not looking at her.

 _If you're not, then you're probably very confused. Allow me to try and clarify; you see, after I put my arm around her, she sort of, hugged me. Her body was warm, which was nice because I get chilled sweats when I'm nervous. And I was very nervous. And after the sky show was over, when we released each other, she turned to me and said: "Write about this sometime, okay?" and I knew, the moment I laid on my bed and closed my eyes, that my brain was not going to sleep until I finished her request. I just couldn't._

Karai's cheeks were scalding. She sensed Leonardo glancing at her through the corner of his eye, and tried not to seem like she was upset with the idea of him liking her. She hadn't been a crush before, only a target, a sex figure surrounded by other sex figures, waiting to be played with, then thrown away to make room for the next model, like a Barbie doll. Frankly, she didn't know which was worse.

… _so, here you go, then. I'm not going to use your name, because I don't want anyone else to know, which is a shame, because you have a beautiful name. Well, you have a beautiful everything, but your name is very nice. I thought it would be interesting for you to hear the event from my p.o.v. Excuse me, point of view. Sorry, writer's slang… but, when you look back at this, I want you to remember it as an event, captured in a written photo, not a story. Because it's not a story, it really happened, and I really felt that way, I really_ _ **feel**_ _that way, and I hope to God you understand. Maybe even share my feelings? Who knows?_

Karai knew, and the guilt was over-powering.

 _But, if in some way you don't understand, please don't be angry, or upset, I hate it when you're upset. Sometimes it makes me want to hurt the one that upset you, and that's a road I don't want to go down again. So, all I'm trying to say is: that was a great experience for me, and, I hope it was for you too. I hope it made you happy, because you deserve it, you really do._

 _I can't write anymore, I run the risk of saying something that might really hurt you, so, I'll bid this moment a simple au due, until next time._

They sat in silence. Karai kept a straight face, but her insides were tangled up with emotion. How could Leo feel this way? So… passionate? And if he did, how on earth had Kennedy not noticed? She was great at things like this, and Leo was great at hiding, but he was a terrible liar. If she had have noticed, she would have asked, and he would have lied, and she would have known, and she would have told Karai.

Karai risked a glance at Leo. For someone so open and passionate on paper, he sure was shy about it in person. Karai took a breath.

"This is really good, Leo." he gave a slight nod. Karai blushed and looked away from him, fidgeting while trying to think of something appropriate to say.

Kennedy sat cross-legged in her Area. Alone. The others had gone to bed, exhausted, especially April. Kenn couldn't blame her; super training was long and boring, but well worth it in the end. Not that she would know…

Kennedy took a breath. She had been waiting for the day she would be powerful enough to communicate from far away, as far away as the spirit world, even. Her Sensei… she was taking the boys and others into battle on Thursday, she had to confront Cliff before doing so. Not that she needed help, Kennedy was so past that stage in her life, but, super prediction never failed her, and she had predicted obstacles Cliff would be good at handling. At least, that was the story she'd told April and Tyler when they'd asked if she was going to bed. She took another breath.

"Oh, Holy Ghost," Kennedy began. "Feel my presence." She waited, inhaling and exhaling deeply. A light flickered in the back of her mind. Her breathing hitched, but she quickly calmed down. "Oh, Holy Ghost," she continued. "Here my voice." The light became brighter. "Oh, Holy Ghost," she said and then paused. "See my body." The light became a shine. Kennedy took one last breath. "Oh, Holy Ghost, take me in!" she released a fireball of energy at her Sensei's spirit, calling him to her. The light in her mind exploded and surrounded her, transporting her into the spirit world, with a little help from her teleportation.

Kennedy opened her eyes, but had to shield them from a blinding blue light. Before her, stood the long lost figure of her master: Hamato Cliff. Kennedy could have cried. His pale blue outline made her eyes pound in a good way. She saw his beard was still longer than her hair, and still in the braid she'd given him the night before he left. His robe was still intact, nary a wrinkle to be seen. And his face still looked like that of a pug. Kennedy bowed. "Sensei," she said. Her Sensei didn't respond for the longest time. Kennedy had begun to wonder if she'd done something wrong.

"Young Kennedy," her master responded, and Kennedy sighed in relief. "You may rise." She stood, a smile on her face, however her master was frowning. Kennedy tilted her head and lifted a brow.

"Master?" the blow was unexpected, but, thanks to her powers, predictable. She rolled to the side before her master could strike her.

"What have you done, girl?!" his mouth didn't move, but Kennedy could hear his voice in her head. She stood, arms up, lifted brows.

"What are you talking about?" she dodged another attack. Cliff turned to her, his face twisted in rage.

"The mutagen!" he hissed. Kennedy tilted her head.

"Wha…?" and then it occurred to her that Cliff was referring to the way she'd obtained her powers. "Oh…" she said for a while. "What about it?" she ducked from a hit.

"You stupid fool, those 'powers' wouldn't be more yours if you stole them!" Kennedy teleported a few feet away, confused, and then angry. It was just mutagen, for God's sake! And it wasn't dangerous, not to her at least. Her Sensei pointed a bony finger at her. "You see? That's not yours!"

"Uh, they're not yours, either, what's your point?!" Kennedy shouted, and clamped her hands over her mouth immediately afterwards. Her Sensei was just as stunned. Kennedy dropped her gaze to the ground. She tried to convince herself that he had that coming, everyone knew not to mess with Kennedy, or she would fight back! And most likely win. But this didn't feel like a victory.

"Is this what you've become, girl?" he motioned at her with his hand. _That_ made Kennedy's blood boil. Where was _her Sensei_? The one that loved her and accepted her?

"I have a name, remember? Has it been that long, Sensei?" Cliff growled when he realized Kennedy was not going to take this. "I've done things even you couldn't do, and I was five and without powers!"

"You're arrogant," Cliff said.

"I know I'm good," Kennedy corrected.

"You're a fool," Cliff said. Kennedy shrugged.

"You raised me." Cliff couldn't help it, he chuckled. Kennedy grinned triumphantly. Cliff approached Kennedy and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You are aware that you basically stole those powers." Kennedy, after a long pause, sighed and lowered her head.

"Hai, Sensei."

"And you are aware that The Shredder can steal them back?" Kennedy gulped.

"H-hai, Sensei… but they're not his to begin with, either. He did what I did." Cliff nodded.

"Yes, but, were you aware that it was professionals that gave the powers to him, and not an amateur?" Kennedy gaped at her Sensei. He patted her shoulder and gave a small smile. "I'm sorry Kenny, but compared to the Kraang, you are an amateur at their technology." Kennedy sighed.

"… I know." But she didn't believe it, she'd done her research, she was just as good as the Kraang! Her Sensei knelt in front of her, something Kennedy knew meant a serious warning was on its way.

"Shredder has more control over the power than you; even after all of your hard work to master it," Kennedy's heart did a small backflip at the mention of her working hard, glad her Sensei had noticed, "he cheated. More than you did, and now, he can take all of the powers you fight with. Like he took your healing power." Kennedy gasped.

"W-what?" the blow was unexpected, even for her powers. Kennedy bounced back up immediately, but the pain in her temple was strong. Her Sensei helped steady her.

"And by the looks of it, your super prediction is starting to fade as well." _Duck!_ The voice said. Kennedy grunted.

"Now it tells me." Her Sensei knelt in front of her again.

"Try healing your gash." _Gash…?_ Kennedy put her hand to her temple and felt some slight wetness.

"Oh…"

"Try healing it," her Sensei persisted. Kennedy closed her eyes and… _heal, heal_ … the block was there, but this time, she couldn't break it. She pushed it with her mind, but it didn't budge. She pushed again. No movement. Panic began to set in. Again. Nothing. Kennedy took a breath and…

"HEAL!" the block shattered and her head was no longer bleeding. Kennedy fell to her knees, breathing heavily. Done it… she'd done it… she felt hands pull her up.

"Are you alright? That was quite the light show!" She opened her eyes. He was blurry, but she could still see Cliff, looking down at her. "Alright, maybe you can still heal, if you pass out afterwards." Kennedy felt his hand brush her temple. It didn't hurt. "Well, it's not too shabby, but not perfect either. Looks like you're going to have quite the scar there." Kennedy groaned.

"I… I can still… fix… it…" she raised her hand slowly to her temple again, but the block was back. She pushed against it. It was stronger. Her Sensei removed her hand gently.

"Now, Kennedy, there's no need for that." Kennedy blew some hair out of her face.

"I need a tea…" she murmured. Cliff laughed. He placed a hand on Kennedy's forehead, and her fatigue disappeared. She stood abruptly. "Thank-you."

"Kennedy," she looked at her Sensei. "… There will be some very disturbing things in your battle. Things that will make you question your very sanity." Kennedy shrugged.

"I've been doing that a lot, lately." Cliff's face hardened, and Kennedy immediately bowed her head in apology, afraid of losing her master to the violent tyrant before. She felt him pat her head.

"I realize you don't like being stressed or scared, Kennedy, but this is a situation where you have to be." He knelt in front of her and raised her head to look at him. "This _is_ scary, this _is_ a big deal, and it _is_ about your past. About your _family_." Kennedy teared up.

"That's BS, they're all dead." Her Sensei shook his head.

"Not all of them, my dear. Your… father, let's call him… Kennedy?" her vision of Cliff was fading, the world around her, rippling away… no, no, no!

"Sensei!" Kennedy grabbed for him. She saw his hand grasp hers, but she didn't feel it.

"It's alright, I'm here, calm down." But Kennedy couldn't calm down. Her father was alive?! After all these years, he was alive?! And he hadn't bothered to tell her? To look for her and love her? She was all over the news for crying out loud, he had to have seen her! "Kennedy, you're fading, you need to calm down." Kennedy heard his voice, but she couldn't comprehend the words. Her father was alive… and he hadn't bothered to look for her? Kennedy choked on a sob. She really was without a family; an orphan. "Kennedy!"

"Sensei…"

"Listen to me, your father is alive, and you will be fighting against him. He will try to take you away from your friends. Don't let him, Kennedy, don't let him…" his voice was fading. Kennedy was falling. A question was caught in her throat. Shaking herself, she screamed.

"Who is he?" but her Sensei was fading quickly. She tried to grab his tunic, but her hand went through him. "Sensei, please! Tell me who…" and then there was a blinding flash, and Kennedy fell hard onto the ground. Her world was a blur, and her head was a big ball of pain. _Burakkuparedo e yokoso_ , chanted a voice. _Burakkuparedo e yokoso_ …

Shredder snickered with delight. Finally, he had her powers. All of them. Except one, but that took away all of her energy after one use, there was nothing that power could do to stop him with the new 'upgrades' to his mind. The Kraang were proving themselves a valuable ally. As was his new recruit. The classmate. The older one with the sadistic streak. Shredder had never seen anyone laugh so hard at a child's pain. Shredder admitted that it did slightly sicken him, but, Miles was useful, no matter how mentally ill he was.

He'd been sent to Dimension X, to assist the Kraang with their work and to provide some info on the girl and the turtles. He'd told The Shredder that the girl, Kennedy, was a mutant. That she had his powers.

"That's right," he'd said, remembering their last battle. That was when he'd gone to the Kraang.

"Kraang knows the unit of which you speak. The one known as: Kennedy Honors."

"She is a mutant with the power."

"The one known as Kennedy does not keep the… ability. The one known as Kennedy has not properly achieved the ability."

"What are you saying?"

"The one known as Shredder has all of the ability, to use all power at his disposal. The one known as Kennedy has no skill to safe the ability."

And so, the Kraang told Shredder what to do and how to tap into the genius's brain. They'd said because she's already used her power to get into his brain, he could easily climb into hers. He'd need to ride her train of thought. Simple enough, if he was calm. He'd infiltrated her mind and slowly took one power at a time, starting with her levitation. Then her elemental control. Then her teleportation. Then her Healing Mind. And lastly, her Super Prediction. He hadn't bothered with her Siren's Song. He was tone deaf anyway, and besides, what could one little girl _possibly_ do with an ability that nearly killed her every time it was used?

He breathed and focused. There it was, her train of thought! A literal train. He breathed again and hopped on board. It was zooming quicker than he'd ever thought possible. The genius was usually very calm; what could have happened? _I'm an orphan…_ The Shredder nearly lost focus, but he pulled himself together. _My father's alive…_ the train of thought swiveled but Shredder gripped it harder. Father? The genius had lost her family? _And he doesn't love me… I'm a freak._ The Shredder had never felt so confused. He'd assumed that the genius had a family, but they'd been mutated. _He left me…_

An image popped up in the girls head. A burning house. Shredder gasped. _His_ burning house. _He left me to burn…_ images of children screaming, crying. Babies being crushed by burning planks, teenagers choking on black smoke. And Shredder recognized all of them. The burning twins under the plank, Lilly and Yang; his youngest daughters. The teen boy choking on the smoke, Gavin; his eldest son. A younger boy with charred skin on his forearm; Logan. A girl missing her left eye; Ruby. And finally, a grown woman; buried under burnt rubble, screaming for the children to run. Get away. His wife, Yuki, dying. _Why…_

Another memory, a little girl, no older than five, covered in soot, balanced on the window ledge. She jumped, landing swiftly on her feet, after bouncing off of some tree branches. Shredder couldn't believe who he was seeing. _Kiki…_

"Come on you guys," shouted the little girl. It was definitely Kiki, no other child's voice was that low. "Momma said to jump!" screams, cries, and then the house collapsed. The train of thought sped through the memory, the visions turned milky, and then they were gone. Shredder was on his knees, panting. This girl had seen his house burn… she'd seen Kiki… another image, this time, of a forest. It was blurred. He felt the girl remember pain. Physical pain in her eyes. She'd rubbed them, but that didn't help. The memory was black. The girl couldn't see anything. Shredder gasped.

Could it be that… no, impossible, he'd never had a daughter named Kennedy. But she seemed to know the story of his wife and children very well… she must have known Kiki somehow… she'd seen… wait, Kiki had jumped out of the window, and lived! His daughter was alive!

Another memory. Her vision was no longer black. The girl was remembering having moist eyes. The memory showed a very urban styled bedroom and very sore muscles for the girl. The door to the room opened, and in walked Cliff. Shredder recognized his beard.

"Hello," he said to the girl. The girl had sat up.

"Where am I? Where are my brothers and sisters?" _brothers and sisters?_

"They didn't make it, I'm sorry." The girl was remembering her heart falling in her chest. "You're at my home."

"Well duh," the girl said. Her voice was awfully low for a child… she was a child in this memory, right? "I mean how far is it from my house? Momma will be…" the girl was remembering Yuki under the burning planks, and remembering the realization. "She's gone too, isn't she?" Cliff nodded sadly.

"Only one crazy enough to jump out of the window is you, young lady." The girl had scoffed.

"You call it crazy, I call it resourceful." Shredder's heart did a back-flip. That was what he'd always said to Kiki… the girl was remembering sadness. "That's what my papa always told me… I guess he's gone too." Cliff nodded. The girl hung her head. Shredder gasped. This girl… who ever she was…

"How old are you, may I ask?" she remembered Cliff asking. She hadn't _known_ Kiki…

"I'm five and three quarters," she remembered responding. _She was…_

"Do you have a name?" _this girl was…_

"Hm…" the girl remembered thinking intensely. "I don't remember." Cliff had smiled. _This girl_ _ **was**_ _Kiki…_

"Then, in honor of my first wife, may I call you, 'Kennedy'?" the girl remembered smiling.

"Sure!" _she is Kiki!_

The memory ended. _Sensei knew he wasn't dead…_

"Didn't you?" the girl asked no one. Shredder felt a small ignition below the girl's heart. A light, it felt like. Could that be Cliff's spirit? It flickered. The girl's hope died, Shredder felt it. She was on her hands and knees. "Why didn't you…?" the girl didn't finish the question. A phrase was circling around her train of thought. Shredder squinted to read it: _if all they ever did was make your life hell, why bother to miss them?_ The girl nodded, and then sadness set in again, but it was replaced by something else very quickly. Something far more bright, and passionate. Something fueled by rage. "I wish he was dead," she whispered. Her fists clenched in the grass and tore it. Shredder felt his own heart burn. "He left me… _us_ , to burn…" Shredder gasped. Was that what she thought? "… I hope he is dead," she whispered, standing slowly. Shredder growled. The Kraang not only told him how to infiltrate a brain, they'd also told him how to access the nerves, the ones that detected pleasure and pain. "I hope he is dead!" she said, louder. Since she was in pain from her memory, it wasn't too difficult to find. He hopped onto it. _Wish he were dead, do you?_ "Because if he isn't," the girl clenched her fists. "I'm going to **kill him**!" Shredder slugged the nerve. The girl screamed and grasped her head, falling to her knees.

"What the fu-!" he hit it again, sending pain near her ankle (Kiki had always complained the most when she twisted an ankle). She growled, taking deep breaths. _Calm down,_ she was telling herself. Shredder hit it again, sending pain near her other ankle. The girl was on the ground, wheezing and breathing through her teeth.

"Never, talk about your father that way again," Shredder said sternly. The girl's eyes widened. _No flipping way_ , she thought. Shredder smacked it again, sending pain to her ribcage. The girl gasped, as if recovering from a punch. "Understand, _Kiki_?"

The girl's train of thought came to a grinding halt. Everything stopped. No thoughts, no feelings, just blankness. Things moved in slow motion as her mind began to process what Shredder had just said to her. And then, anger, and a bright light. Shredder knew that light, she was trying to kick him out of her head. "I don't think so," he growled and slugged her head again. Pain to her temples. The girl was laying still, with her hands covering her ears. On the verge of tears. Shredder stopped.

She was still Kiki, she was still his daughter. She was just, like Karai, going through a rebellious streak. He'd proven his dominance; he didn't need to do any more. She was obedient now, and if she refused, he'd show her the alternative. Her thoughts were calm. Her train of though was moving at normal speed. Shredder grinned. He looked to the nerve opposite of pain, and touched it gently. And then the rage spiked again. The light was back. Shredder slapped the pain nerve and it disappeared.

"Kenny!" he heard through the girl's ears. "Kenny, what's wrong?" he recognized the voice: Tigerclaw.

"Ty…" the girl replied weakly. She was opening her eyes; Shredder could see a blurred image of Tigerclaw, the traitor. The girl was reaching for him. Shredder sent a pain to her wrist and she whimpered and pulled it back, cradling it against her body.

"Kenny, what's happened?" Tigerclaw knelt beside her. She wasn't thinking about it, so Shredder couldn't stop her when she put her hand on his knee. Energy exploded into her body, her mind, and it was not in his favour. A roar ripped its way into her mind and the light flashed, banishing him, with a message that was less than acceptable for a daughter to say to her father.

"Kenny? Kenny!" Kennedy was panting, sweating, and probably had some drool going on. She spit into the grass and pushed herself up. Good God, he was in her head… "Kenny!" she felt bulky arms wrap around her. She reached for the owner of the voice, receding into herself. He had been in her head… something warm was on her forehead, and she immediately registered what it was. Kennedy's eyes snapped open and she pushed Tyler's face away.

"Ew, Ty, seriously?" he chuckled in relief.

"I didn't know how else to wake you up," he stated and shrugged. Kennedy gave a small smile, then closed her eyes again and sighed. If he got in once, who's to say he couldn't do it again? "What happened to you? You looked possessed." Kennedy squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her teeth together. Tigerclaw noticed her fist clench, it scrunched a wad of his vest.

"I was."


	13. Chapter 13

The Glasses of Life

Chapter 13

Karai awoke slowly; the heaviness of sleep still in her brain. How long had she been asleep? She tried to roll over for a glimpse at Kennedy's alarm clock, but she bumped into something.

"Mmh…" some _one_. Karai turned her head and gasped. There, sound asleep next to her, lay Leonardo. Karai lay still; trying to remember when she'd ever invited him into her bedroom, until she noticed the gold and black comforter and the thin gold sheet underneath her. They weren't in her room; they were in Kennedy's guest bedroom. In the guest bed. What had happened last night?

She'd been reading Leo's story, which she remembered she'd liked, and… that's right! It had been a confession to her, a confession about his feelings for her. And he'd been embarrassed. So embarrassed, Karai hadn't thought it possible for one person to blush so much. She'd been worried he was running a fever at one point. Finally, after what seemed like hours, Leo had risen. Karai had watched him carefully.

"I'm sorry," he'd said, and begun to walk away. Karai had been silent, but she remembered being confused at his apology, he had nothing to be sorry about, after all. When she'd stopped him and told him as much, Leo had looked to the floor, silent. Karai had grabbed his arm to stop him from walking away, and through his wrist, she'd felt his pulse going haywire.

"I meant I'm sorry to have wasted your time…"

"Leo,-"

"I-I know you don't feel this way… I just didn't know how else to…" he'd looked at his journal. Karai still gripped it tightly to her torso. He'd looked at her like he was a lonely peanut butter sandwich, and right across a very deep river, she was a full jar of jelly. Longing for something he could never have, something that would complete him. He had looked down again. Karai had gripped his arm tighter. "I thought…" he'd sighed. "Never mind, you didn't come here to hear this…"

"Leo-"

"I'm being selfish, I-I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking about how you would feel…"

"Leo, you-"

"I-I never should have told… bothered you with this, I'm sorry," he'd forced a smile, and Karai had heard her heart crack. "I should go…" there had been streaks of wet down his cheeks. "G-good night." He had almost been out of the room (his hand atop the door knob) when Karai had acted.

"No!" she'd grabbed his mid-section and pulled him backwards. She'd known it was a desperate move, but she couldn't let him go out thinking he repulsed her.

"K-Karai-"

"Leo, ssstop." He'd stopped attempting to pry her off of him, but by the shaking in his torso, she could tell he'd still been upset. "Try to calm down," she'd whispered. It took a while but his sobs had quieted into hiccups and the occasional cough. "Take your hand off the door." He had hesitantly obeyed. They'd stood like that for a while until Karai had told Leo to turn and look at her. He'd obeyed (against his own will) and it hadn't been long before he'd had to avert his eyes. Karai had her hands on either of his biceps, occasionally stroking them with her thumb (Kenn had done that to her numerous times to calm her down and it had always worked). "Leo?" he'd squeezed his eyes shut, pushing out several tears, and then he'd looked at her. "How do you know I don't feel the same way? You never asked-"

"Do you?" it wasn't a question. In fact, it had almost been a threat. He'd said it so harshly Karai had actually taken a step back. Leo had immediately changed his expression and tone. "I-I'm sorry, th-that was uncalled for…"

"It's alright, Leo. You have nothing to be sorry for."

"Yes I do."

"Leo," Karai warned. He'd looked to the ground again. She'd stepped closer, causing a blush on both faces.

"I know you don't feel the same way, Karai. If you did, you would have acted on it by now." Karai's heart had dropped from its place, why did he have to know her so well? When he'd seen her expression, his had fallen as well. Karai had glanced at him but he had been staring at the ground again. _He still had hope… and I raised it up and crushed it…_ Karai had shrugged, catching Leo's eyes.

"Maybe I'm shy," she had said. Leo hadn't been able to help it: he'd chuckled. Karai had smiled and dramatically sighed in relief. "Oh good, I thought I broke your sssense of humor." Leo had laughed, and Karai had giggled a bit with him.

"You really are Kennedy's friend," he'd said. Karai had grinned and hugged him, and, to her relief, Leo had hugged her back. Karai remembered feeling warm. She remembered how well she and Leo had _fit_ in that hug. And she remembered being unable to stop smiling, which -she assumed- was why her jaw still hurt. And then, she remembered staring at him. And he, at her. She remembered his blush, his eyes, his touch, which impressed her and creeped her out.

Leo moaned beside her, which made her all but jump out of her skin. She collected herself enough to get back to the memory, after ensuring she hadn't woken Leo up. She remembered the endless staring, but what had happened after…? Leonardo's arm was around her. She broke herself out of her trance to view his face. Still asleep, but he was smiling, sweet and warm. Karai noted that his mouth was… redder than usual. Almost as if he was wearing lip stick… suddenly chilled, Karai raised her arm, extending her pointer finger. She rubbed it across her lips. She moved her finger far enough for her to see it. It was dyed red. She'd forgotten to wash her make-up off before… before what, exactly?

She looked between Leo's mouth and her finger. Had he kissed her last night? Or… had she kissed him? But, even if they had kissed, one measly kiss wouldn't have rubbed off that much lip stick. Had they kissed more than once? Karai closed her eyes and thought.

"It'ss not that I don't want to like you, Leo, but I can't." Leonardo had nodded sadly, with his forced smile.

"I understand. You're my sister, and-"

"That'ss not what I meant…" then Leo had stared. "That wouldn't ssstop me at all, but…" Karai had sighed "I… I can't… I _can't_ feel that…" Leo tilted his head slightly.

"Wh-what do you-?"

"I can't care about people like that." She had looked at the ground, then back at him. Her eyes held pain. "At leasst… not anymore." Karai couldn't remember exactly what happened after that, but she did remember what she'd confessed. A very painful secret she'd sworn never to tell anyone. A promise to herself that she'd broken when she'd told Kennedy, and again when she'd told Leo, and he'd hugged her and told her he was sorry. Had she cried? She couldn't remember. But, she recalled, that was when the kiss happened. She'd kissed him first, and he'd been afraid to return it.

And then the guilt hit her, because she remembered his face. He hadn't wanted a kiss from her, not like that. He'd wanted it to mean something, something other than pity. He'd wanted her to love him back. But she'd guilted him into it. Made him feel like he was the reason she was hurting.

"Make it go away," she'd murmured, and rested her forehead against his plastron. "Make me forget."

"Mm… Karai-" she hadn't let him finish. Eventually he'd given in. She remembered cupping his face, and his hands on her hips. She remembered being out of breath. And she remembered… oh God; she remembered removing her sweater, her T-shirt… well, Kennedy's sweater and T-shirt. Which had left her in an undershirt, underwear and jean shorts. She was quick to lose the shorts. She couldn't remember if Leo had protested or not.

The memory blurred until she remembered her hand on Leo's knee (he'd lost his gear long ago). She had moved her hand up his leg slowly, he probably hadn't realised what she was doing until she got to his inner thigh. Then he stopped her. She'd worked his mask half-way off his face as well.

"Karai, wait…" he'd had to catch his breath for a bit. "I-I can't do this to you, y-you don't want this…" Karai had to let his words sink in. His expression had screamed guilt. She had let her head fall. He was right; she didn't want this, and neither did he. She had sighed.

"Yeah…" Leo had given her a sympathetic smile and he tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. That had been when she'd noticed the lip stick on him and she'd giggled.

"What?" Karai had smudged it with her thumb and smiled mischievously.

"Pfft, you look like a cross-dressing ninja." And they'd laughed.

Karai assumed they'd slept in the guest bedroom together, and she peeked under the comforter. She was still wearing her tank top and underwear, but a loose feeling at her chest and the B-37 cup on the floor told her she'd lost her bra. She looked at Leo. His mask was still half off. Oh God, what had she done? As if embarrassment was reading her mind, the door swung open and Kennedy walked in. Karai yelped and jumped, waking up Leo.

Kenn walked onto the balcony, completely oblivious to her best-friend. Leo had fallen off of the bed when he'd been awoken, and was lying on the floor, half wrapped in the comforter.

"Who's a… what?" he looked around. "What happened?" his words were heavily slurred with sleep.

"Leo?" he looked up.

"Karai?" he grunted as he rose with one hand on his head. "Uhg… what just happened?"

"You fell," she said and shrugged helplessly. Leo looked around the room, obviously confused.

"Wh-what am I…?" he looked at her. "Why are…?" he shook his head and rubbed his face. And then his head snapped up, eyes wide, mouth slightly parted. "God, what have I done?" Karai couldn't help it, she giggled. Leo shot fearful eyes at her, and she rose, causing Leo to avert his eyes with a blush. Karai rolled her eyes. "Wh-what happened to your… clothes?"

"Heh, you tell me," she said, and pointed under Leo's foot. He followed her finger and turned white when he saw her bra.

"Oh God, please don't tell me I did what I think I did." Before Karai could answer, Leo clasped his hand over his mouth and starred wide-eyed at her; a sure sign that he believed the situation was much worse than it was. "God, Splinter's going to _kill_ me." Karai put a hand on her hip and sighed.

" _Usss_ , Leo. Sssplinter's going to kill _usss_ ," she corrected. When he didn't calm down, Karai walked over to her sweater and calmly put it on. "We didn't have sssex, Leo, you were too sssscared," she teased with a devilish smile. Leo didn't return it, only looked at her, petrified.

"I-I don't remember what happened…"

"Clearly."

"Wh-what did I… what did happen?" Karai shrugged again, keeping her face calm.

"Mostly a lot of m-" Karai couldn't bring herself to say 'making-out', it sounded so dirty, and what happened last night was anything but. "…kissing."

"Did I touch you?"

"You touch a lot of people in life, Leo."

"Karai!" sensing that he was in no mood to laugh it off, Karai sighed and looked to where her shorts- Kennedy's shorts –lay.

"… Yesss." Karai could have sworn Leonardo was having a heart attack after she answered. "Not like that!" she clarified. "It wassn't like a one-night-ssstand thing. It wasss…" she stopped to think over her words before she smiled shyly and looked over her shoulder at him. "It wass too sweet for that." Leo's stress died slightly with her comment.

"Oh," he said. "I… uh…" he gulped. "I'm… glad you liked it?" he was trying to pretend he liked it as much as Karai refused to admit she did. Karai's expression saddened and she walked towards Leo- all thoughts on the shorts forgotten –and hugged him. His body stiffened at her touch.

"I'm ssssorry, Leo…" he returned her hug then, slightly relaxed.

"Don't apologise," he whispered. "It wasn't all bad… in fact, it really wasn't bad." Karai scoffed.

"You're making it ssound like we _had_ sssex." She heard him chuckle. She sighed. "… You didn't want me…" she hesitated. "Not like that. I pushed you way outssside of your comfort zone."

"Actually, I think you expanded my comfort zone," he said. Then it was Karai who was not in the mood to laugh this off.

"Don't try to sugar-coat it, Leo." His expression turned serious and he nodded.

"Okay," he said. But Karai didn't know what else to say, so, she just held him. It was a few minutes until Karai remembered Kennedy.

"Oh God!" she released Leo and ran to the balcony. Sure enough, there was Kennedy, pacing, murmuring to herself, oblivious to Karai's presence. "Kenn?" she didn't even blink.

"Whoa, what's wrong with her?" Leo asked from behind Karai. "More importantly, how long has she been up here?" Karai was captivated by Kennedy, who was captivated in her thoughts.

"She came in asss I wasss waking up," Karai said, her voice a spirit's whisper. "She ssscared me and I kinda yelped. That'sss what woke you up." Leo nodded and looked back at Kennedy.

"I'm surprised she hasn't started with the dirty jokes yet," he said, a fetal attempt to lighten the mood. Karai shook her head.

"I haven't ssseen her this distracted ssince…" Karai thought back to her time in the city, right as she was just regaining consciousness. "Sssince she found me and Ssssplinter…" Karai then stepped onto the balcony. Kenn didn't notice. "Kenn." Nothing. "Kennedy?" no response, Kennedy's face was dead. Panicking, Karai walked quickly to Kennedy and spun her around by her shoulders. "Kennedy!" Kennedy's eyes flashed, and suddenly she was alive again.

"Kid?" Kennedy hadn't called Karai that since the invasion. Kennedy backed up and shook her head. "When did you get up here?" Karai held in her panic and was about to respond calmly, when Kennedy (with her razor sharp senses) noticed her outfit. Or lack thereof. "And what happened to your pants?" then she saw Leo, and to Karai's horror and Leo's concern, Kennedy didn't grin, giggle or even blink. Just shook her head and sighed. "Too easy," she said, and went back to staring at nothing.

"Uh, Kenn-"

"Donnie wanted you downstairs, Karai." It was too professional to come out of Kennedy's mouth, and yet it had. Karai touched her friends shoulder, earning her attention. "What?"

"Kenn, you're acting weird."

"Do you even know me?" Karai fought back a relieved sigh. At least she still had her snark.

"Are you feeling okay?" Kennedy didn't hesitate.

"Ripe as rain. Don wants to see you, Karai." Karai nodded and backed away from her friend, shooting a worried look at Leo as she left. Leo nodded slowly to her and offered a sympathetic smile as she closed the door behind her. As soon as Karai was gone, out of ear shot, Kennedy groaned very loudly and fell onto her knees. The sudden noise made Leo jump, but he gathered himself enough to help Kennedy to her feet once he got to her. She looked at him, and Leo almost recoiled. "I'm freaking out, Leo, freaking out!"

 _Obviously_ , he wanted to say, but didn't. Kennedy had bags under her eyes, one side of her head was bright pink and the other was pale as a ghost (Kennedy laid sideways when she was thinking) and she wasn't wearing her glasses. Kennedy was not one to forget small detail like glasses, or, now that he was noticing, combing hair or putting in earrings. Not only that, her hair was down. Down! Kennedy always had it pulled back, out of her face, in a braid, or rarely a pony tail. She slept with it down. "I-I was so sure… and then… Christ, he was _inside_ me! He saw everything…" Leo stared with wide eyes, but Kennedy was so wrapped up in her tale, she didn't notice. "He… I don't even know _how_ , but he got to me! He touched my mind, Leo, he took my powers! I'm useless now…"

"Wait, wait, wait," Leo said, waving his hands at either side of his head. "What are you talking about?"

"I…" Kennedy finally noticed his expression. "Clearly not what you were thinking about." Kennedy hesitantly explained to Leo what had happened last night when she'd spoken to her Sensei. About her stolen power, about her 'chat' with The Shredder, about the pain in her ankles and wrist, and about that God-forsaken chill he'd sent through her body, and about the strange name he'd called her. "Kiki," Kennedy said. "Or something dumb like that."

Karai burst back through the door to the balcony, out of breath and pale. Kennedy was immediately at her side. "What's up, kid?" she asked. Karai huffed, then looked at her, not afraid but anxious.

"Downsssstairs," she huffed. "Hurry."

"Oh, there you guys are!" exclaimed Donnie as Karai dragged Kenn and Leo down to Kennedy's living room. Everyone looked to them, as if their arrival was expected. Leo was immediately nervous. Kennedy was immediately annoyed; she was not a morning person, much less a crowd person.

"This had better be good," she growled. "I'm not in the best mood right now." Leonardo and Tigerclaw glanced at her and nodded in unison.

"Oh, I promise it will be!" Donnie practically squealed. "When I was looking through the old papers you saved from your house in the city-"

"Not liking this story," Kennedy interrupted. Leo nudged her. Tigerclaw frowned at her. She glared ice at both of them. Donnie cleared his throat.

"Anyways, I found that you took notes on Baxter's mutagen as well." All eyes but Kennedy's went wide.

"You mean the fly dude in the unflattering pink sweater?" Kenn asked, only partially alive. Donnie nodded excitedly.

"That was the mutagen Karai got mutated with," he began. "You figured out the formula for the retro!" that got Kennedy's attention as Donnie held up a vile of transparent orange liquid. "All I had to do was make it," he said proudly. Kennedy stared, too angry to be happy, which only enraged her more. But she pushed aside the petty emotion; her best-friend was going to be healed! She had to at least pretend to be happy, so, she forced a smile, even though it hurt like hell. The rest said shocked and thrilled words of praise and accomplishment to Donatello, but he didn't seem interested. He was walking towards Karai, who looked too stunned to react. He stopped in front of her.

"Donatello…" she seemed to only barely catch his explanation, but he raised his hand to silence her, and handed her the vile, smiling. She took it, and Kenn watched her tear up.

"It's Donnie," he said, and grinned. Karai and Donnie hadn't had much chance to talk, but Kenn did know from experience that Karai was no dunce when it came to science. Karai returned his grin and stared down at the vile.

"You… you really think thisss can heal me?" Donnie nodded quickly.

"Kennedy wrote the formula, after all, and we all know she's never wrong." _Why do you torture me?_ Looking around at the other faces, Tyler nodded slowly at her and Leo's eyes spoke volumes to her. She sighed quietly and shrugged, forcing a convincing smile.

"Well, nobody's perfect, but I'm pretty damn close," she said with a wink. Karai hugged her, on the verge of tears. Kennedy hugged back but it was empty.

"Thank-you Kennedy, for everything you've done for us…" something wet hit Kenn's shoulder, and she almost wanted to come clean right there, but that would be stupid, and Kenn was a genius. "You ssssaved me, my father, my family…" _yeah, well, my rain of goodness ends soon._ "You're my bessst-friend."

"And vice-versa," Kennedy responded, and smiled, for real, when Karai let her go. "Now take your Goddamn medicine, kid." Karai grinned, wiped at her eyes, and unscrewed the vile lid. She looked between Donnie, Kennedy, all of her friends, and finally back at Kenn. She smirked and motioned for Karai to get on with it. Karai took a breath, morphed to her snake form, and poured the liquid onto her. She waited, until a sharp pain was felt in her head.

Leo watched as Karai dropped to the ground clutching her temples. He had tried to rush in and help her (not knowing exactly how he would) but Kenn had stopped him. "Don't be stupid, Leo, you have no idea how that retro will affect you. Let her ride it out, Karai's tough, she can take it." and Karai did take it, for about a minute, and then her snake form morphed to that of a human. Legs, torso, arms, head. A bright light. And then, it was over. Karai rose shakily to her feet, and nearly scared Leo out of his shell.

"D-did it work…?" she sputtered. Leo wanted to turn away but he couldn't.

"Uh, Rai?" this came from Kennedy. Karai lazily turned to her.

"Y-yeah?"

"You're naked." She motioned to Karai's body. Karai looked at herself.

"Jesus!" something flopped onto her head. She pulled it off of her face enough to see it was a blanket. She looked at Kennedy, who was staring half-heartedly at her.

"Throw a sheet over yourself, eh?" Karai nodded shakily and wrapped the blanket around herself. Kennedy put her arm around Karai's shoulders and lead her to their room, "Easy does it kid," she would murmur as they walked. As soon as the duo was out of ear shot:

"Well that didn't go as expected," said Donnie.

"I don't think I'll ever un-see that," groaned Mikey. _Neither do I_ , Leo thought, and smirked.

"Why would you want to?" Casey asked, and then laughed, earning him a punch in the arm from Raph, and a disapproving glare from Leo and Splinter.

"Want to what?" asked Sam, who's eyes had been covered by Tigerclaw. "Senseiiiii!" Tigerclaw uncovered his eyes and stood silently.

"No, not that," Donnie began. "I knew that would happen-"

"And you didn't bother to tell us?" Leo and Splinter accused in unison. Donnie shrugged.

"I forgot. Anyways, what I meant was Kennedy." Leo and Tigerclaw looked to the ground. "Could she have _been_ less enthusiastic?"

"Pfft, clearly you've never seen her talk about religion," murmured April.

"I mean, I know she's probably tired and stuff from training, but…" Donnie moved his hands in circles in attempt to think. "It's almost like… she was, dead." The group nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I mean, Karai's her best-friend! And she was totally ignoring her!"

"Did they get into a fight?" asked April.

"Doubtful," replied Donnie. "Kenn would never fight with Karai."

"Kennedy's… just having a difficult time," Splinter said. "She's been having a rough week. Her definition of rough, not ours." Leo kept his head down to hide his surprise.

"Oh," said Mikey.

"Dang," agreed Raph.

"Is she okay?" asked April.

"Yes, she's fine, just at wit's end with life, is all," Splinter said.

"True," Tigerclaw said, "she'll pull herself together eventually." The group nodded and headed out to continue their final days of training. Leonardo felt a rough paw grab his shoulder as he was walking. "Hold on, Blue boy," said Tigerclaw's voice. He waited until everyone was out of ear shot. "So, how much did Kennedy tell you?" Leo blinked, showing no emotion.

"All of it." he sounded and felt so small next to Tigerclaw. Tigerclaw removed his hand from Leo's shoulder and nodded, as emotionless as Leo had tried to be.

"It seems as though she trusts you more than she wants to admit." Leo tried to hide his confusion. Tigerclaw sighed. "Boy, did she tell you why she hadn't told anyone else?" Leo nodded.

"She didn't want to freak them out." Tigerclaw nodded and stroked his chin.

"Indeed," he said. "I don't suppose she ever thought that you have your own problems to deal with-"

"What are you saying?" Leo asked defensively. It wasn't like Kennedy had chained him to the wall as she told him.

"Don't be angry with me, Leonardo," Tigerclaw said. It was odd for Leo to hear Tigerclaw call him by his name. "I was just wondering why she'd planned to tell only you about this and no one else." Leo lifted a brow.

"How do you know that?"

"Because she told me when I found out," Tigerclaw said in a hushed growl. Leo blinked back the surprise. Was Tigerclaw _jealous_ of him? "I found her curled into a fetal position in her back yard at three in the morning, murmuring nonsense and drooling on herself," he began. "Telling something to get away from her. I tried to snap her out of it- I thought Cliff was handling her mind too roughly…"

"Oh…" Leonardo said, struggling to follow Tigerclaw's words.

"Well, I knew something was wrong. She reached for me, but, it was like her wrist was broken by invisible hands, because she whimpered and hugged it to her chest. I knelt next to her. She put her hand on my knee. And then, she screamed, and there was a blinding moment. No light. And then she was out cold. I grabbed her and tried to arouse her. She did come to, but barely. She was too weak to come up with an excuse for her behavior so she told me the truth, and told me to keep quiet about it until she could…" he growled and looked away from Leo. "… get a chance to talk to you." Leonardo stared blankly.

"It seems that Kennedy has placed her trust in the right leader," said a voice Leo knew all too well. Tigerclaw shot his head up, and Leo turned around slowly. "If I know my son, he can carry extremely heavy burdens for the longest time." Leo smiled at the praise.

"Thank-you, Sensei." Splinter stepped out from the shadows and nodded to his son. Tigerclaw had no reaction.

"So, what Kennedy told me is true." Splinter lifted a brow for Tigerclaw to continue. "Cliff was your grandfather."

"Great-grandfather," Splinter corrected. "And he was a good man."

"I know," Tigerclaw scoffed. "He was my Sensei too." Leo nearly laughed, hearing Tigerclaw sound like such a child.

"Kennedy has learn much from him for such a young girl."

"She's nearly 19, you know," Tigerclaw said. Leo lifted a brow. Hadn't she just had her 17th birthday in August?

"Odd, she told us she was 17," Splinter said with a raised brow. Tigerclaw shook his head.

"That is what she believes. I'm not sure why Cliff never wanted her to know her true age, but he made me convince her on her 13th birthday that she was 11. So, she's a bit behind on her numbers."

"So, she's practically an adult?" Leo asked.

"Don't let her hear you say that," Tigerclaw said, and then a flash of realisation crossed his face. "Perhaps it was that very word that made Cliff want Kenny to stay younger… in her mind, that is."

"Adult?" Leonardo inquired. Tigerclaw nodded.

"The majority of adults in her life didn't treat her very well."

"So, what do you think was wrong with Kenn?" April asked Donnie as they sparred.

"I have no clue," he replied. "Even if she was tired, she usually puts on a smile anyways. Or just stays in bed." April nodded in agreement before Donnie knocked her feet out from under her. She landed hard, but rolled away and stood again. "Nice," he said and went at her again. Since training with Kennedy, April had taken to Super Prediction and levitation surprisingly quickly. She had another trait, unique to her aura, which Kennedy had nicknamed: Psychic Flash; a powerful wave of psychic energy that struck when April was in a tense situation and panicking.

Donnie swung at her from the side, which she deflected easily; adding the spin Kennedy had taught her if she wanted to show off. Donnie yanked his Bo back and spun it over his head, striking towards April. Since she and Casey had begun dating, his issues with hitting her during training had lessened, but they were still there. April brought her arm up and blocked the staff, another trick she'd learned from Kennedy, and then slapped Donnie across the face with her tessen. She'd shown less remorse in hitting him since the past few days as well.

"Jeez, April," said Raph, who was sparring with Casey. The two of them had been spending more time together for a while as well. "So abusive," he teased. April and Donnie rolled their eyes in unison. Donnie looked to Casey and saw mischief dance across his eyes for a brief moment, and then it was gone, replaced with his poker face. He blocked a punch from Raph and tried for a front kick, which Donnie found odd, since Casey had never learned moves, even ones as basic as a front kick. "Good, but keep your hands up and your other foot firmly on the ground," Raph said. Donnie was so intent on watching and wondering, that he didn't see April's kick rocket towards his jaw. It collided and he stumbled backwards, his hands cupping his jaw.

"Donnie!" April ran next to him. He managed a weak smile.

"It's okay, April, I'm fine, just stunned."

"You're bleeding," she pointed out, and moved her finger across his lower lip, holding it up to reveal blood. Donnie blinked.

"Oh."

"I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay," he said, pausing to spit out blood. "It doesn't hurt."

"Whoa April," Raph whispered as he and Casey approached. "Nice kick."

"I didn't mean to," she murmured. Donnie tried to say he was fine again, but was drowned out by the commotion and blood filling his mouth. He spit it out again.

"We should get Kennedy," Mikey said.

"No!" the others cried in unison. Mikey lifted a brow.

"Just because she's tired doesn't mean she can't use her powers-"

"Actually, it does," interrupted Tigerclaw. He approached with a cotton cylinder, the type dentists used. Donnie watched sleepily, wondering where Tigerclaw had gotten the cotton. And where Splinter and Leo were. "When she loses sleep, she loses energy, and energy is what gives her the power." He sat in front of Donnie and gave him the cotton. "Put this between your lip and teeth." Donnie obeyed. "When she feels better, I'll see if Kenny can heal your lip, until then, I recommend that you stop sparring and try to stop the bleeding."

The Shredder sat in his throne, sulking, when the Kraang walked in.

"Kraang is requesting to speak with the one called Shredder." Shredder motioned for the aliens to come forward. "The one known as Kennedy has sent a recording of her vocals to the one known as Shredder." This peeked his attention. The Kraang gave him a futuristic looking laptop. After a few minutes of grumbling and curses, the Kraang aided him on getting to the genius' message. Shredder couldn't help but hope she'd come to realise her destiny and offer herself up to him as his daughter.

"Get on with it," he growled as the Kraang booted up the machine. A hologram of Kennedy appeared. She did not look pleased.

"As much as I'd like to start off with a big, F you," she held up her middle finger at her side. "I'm not going to. What I am going to do, is tell you that if you ever get inside my head like that again," she shrugged and grinned sadistically. "I'm going to kill you. No fancy words, no common sense, I'm just going to flat out kill you." She leaned close to the screen. Shredder noticed her missing glasses. "Brutally, and messily. Don't think that blood makes me squeamish." Kennedy looked more hard-core than Shredder thought possible. She glared at the screen a bit longer and then the hologram disappeared.

Shredder was paralysed for a moment, and then he stood. "That girl is the lamest mind of all if she thinks that will scare me."

"Kraang is also wondering what her motivation motives were." Shredder, more angry than before, stormed out of his hall and whipping open the doors to his cafeteria. Bradford and Xever jumped at his sudden entrance. Miles looked half-heartedly over his shoulder and turned back to socialise with the Kraang.

"Bradford, Xever, Miles!" the trio approached, and knelt in front of him. Since adopting him, Shredder had given Miles new armour, similar to his own. He'd been trained on fighting with Tonfas and claws, similar to that of The Shredder. He'd also made fast friends with some of Shredder's elite soldiers. Shredder looked into his eyes for an extra-long time before he spoke again. "My daughter has sent me a threat." Bradford and Xever exchanged looks. Miles scoffed.

"That snake-chick couldn't scare a kitten." Shredder glared at him, and then sighed.

"No Miles," Miles hid his shock at the mention of his name behind a poker face. "My _other_ daughter." Shredder practically heard all jaws drop.

"Master Shredder," Bradford began gently. "Kiki is-"

"Alive. Alive and well. She just needs to come to grips with her true family. And I have no doubt in my mind that once she does," he snickered. "She'll take Karai right along with her. They're best-friends, after all."

"Nice, champ. You've been practicing." Nodding, the girl stepped into her next block, and punched again. She could do it at a decent pace now that she'd been training on it for about a week. Her Sensei stepped down from his porch. "It's good that you're learning this, because if someone was to do this," he threw a strike at her hip, which she deflected with a low block, and launched a palm strike at his face. He moved his head out of the way and smiled. The girl could smell alcohol and nicotine on his breath, but, having lived around it her whole life, it smelt like home. "See? You are learning something." He gave her a nod and threw a few punches at his reflex bag. The girl continued but with inside blocks. She wanted to perfect her blocks before she touched a Jo-staff again.


	14. Chapter 14

The Glasses of Life

Chapter 14

Miles kicked a vile of unknown liquid off of Baxter Stockman's island. Shredder had ordered him down there to check on how well the mutant had been doing with the mutagen modifications he'd demanded. The kind Kennedy had made, but un-erasable. So far, all he had to show for his work were empty candy wrappers and a smashed vile.

"The Shredder is growing impatient, Stink-man," Miles growled and slammed his palms down in front of Baxter, making him flinch. "You had better have this ready the next time I come down here," he grabbed Baxter's collar. "If not," he flung him into a wall and pinned him there. "The consequences will be…" he grinned sadistically. "Unfortunate." Baxter gulped.

"Y-y-y-yes, M-Miles…" Miles dropped him and smiled, almost sympathetically.

"Don't fuck this up," he said and left. Once he arrived upstairs, two foot bots were waiting by the staircase. The one to his left handed him a note. He took it and read: **Throne room**. He nodded and started towards Shredder's throne room. Once at the doors, he showed the guard the note and was lead inside.

Shredder's throne room was bigger than Miles had thought; and much more modern, as Kenn would say. Glass covered water at the sides of him, and a plain luminescent blue pathway leading to his throne. The ceilings were high, about 10 feet if Miles had to guess. It reminded him of Juvy. Except this time, he was the punisher, not the punished.

"Miles," The Shredder said. Miles got onto one knee and bowed before his master. Shredder rose and stopped in front of him. Miles stood. "Leave us," he commanded his soldiers. They nodded and left. Miles and the Shredder stood in silence until Shredder turned and begun to walk back to his throne. "Come, Miles," he said. Miles obeyed and sat on the arm of Shredders throne where he'd patted for him to.

"What is it, Master?" Shredder sighed, like a father about to tell his son his pet gold fish died.

"Miles," he began. "You know Kennedy better than anyone here." He was silent. Miles assumed that meant he wanted his help in tracking her down and bringing her to him.

"Well, tracking her won't be difficult, she'll come to us. She has to look out for the freaks and they have this invasion to stop." He smirked. "And I think Rat-a-tat and Medus-" Shredder's eyes ignited and Miles quickly changed his choice of words, covering his ass with coughs. "… and Karai will be headed here to finish us off. And if I know Kennedy, she'd never let Karai fight you alone." Shredder nodded.

"So, she's not as smart as I feared…"

"Oh she is," Miles said. "Very smart. Freaky smart. She knows she'll be walking right into your trap, she just doesn't care." Miles shrugged. "Nothing is worth more to her…" he smiled and spoke like a cowgirl: "then protecting her friends!" his expression then dropped and he scoffed. "Pathetic."

"Indeed," Shredder said. "And what about getting her on my side? If she does, Karai will surly follow her." Miles laughed.

"Yeah, good luck with that." Shredder frowned but Miles ignored him. "When Kennedy doesn't want to do something, she doesn't do it. She just doesn't. No offence but, I saw her video, she'd like nothing more than to rip off your head and serve it with break-" Shredder growled which cut Miles off. Then, he seemed to smile behind his helmet, to Miles' confusion.

"What if she didn't have a choice?" Miles' eyes dropped and he sighed.

"Master Shredder, she's Kennedy. She always had a choice." Shredder shook his head stubbornly.

"No, not this time. This time, she _will_ obey me. She _will_ listen to me. She _will_ be _**mine**_." Miles lifted a brow. "You said she will do anything to protect her friends, correct?" Miles nodded, and then he grinned along with Shredder. "Let's test her on that claim."

Once Casey arrived, Kennedy handed him his bat. It was metal. Casey lifted a brow

"Let me guess, you added a self-destruct mode." Kennedy seemed not to hear him.

"Spin the top half clockwise," she said. Casey, after a moment's hesitation, gripped the bottom before the butt, and twisted the top, as if he were opening a pickle jar. It didn't budge. He gripped it tighter, turning with all his might, but it didn't come off. "I said clockwise," Kennedy said. Casey stared at her like he was colour blind and she'd asked him which red looked best on her painting. Assuming she meant 'spin it the other way, dip-shit', he twisted it in the opposite direction, and it came loose very easily.

"Whoa…" Kennedy had put a thin katana blade inside his baseball bat. Casey took a step back and went through the four steps Leo had taught him when working with a sword. Draw, slice, wipe off blood, sheath. He wanted to touch the blade, but Leo had also told him never to do that.

"I noticed you training with Blue the other day," Kennedy said. Casey turned to her. "You're actually decent." He gasped under his breath; that was the nicest thing she'd ever said to him. "And I also noticed you taking one of his blades while he was asleep to train with it." Casey's eyes widened.

"Wh-"

"I'm a professional, sweetheart, pay attention and you'll learn something." Kennedy took in a breath and sighed heavily. "Anyways, I figured if you're willing to learn, why not teach you? And by that, I mean Leo is going to teach you. Because I sure as hell can't be bothered to do it." Kennedy turned and walked towards her art room, stopping at the door and looking back at him. "We need to go back at some point this week…" and then she walked into her art room and locked the door.

"There are four basic steps in a sword." The girl in the blue ball cap watched intently as her Sensei spoke. "Draw," he drew the katana, "slice," he swung, "wipe off the blood," he flicked the blade, "and sheath." He put the blade back in its sheath. The girl nodded and took the blade. "Now you try." The girl's younger friends stared in awe at the sword. _Probably the first time they've ever seen a real sword._ She grinned at them.

"Look, I'm Leo!" she mimicked the quote from Mikey perfectly, and the children laughed. Then she tried the technique her Sensei had shown her, stumbling from the unexpected weight of the sword. Her Sensei caught her.

"Here, let me show you," he clasped the blade over her hands and took her through the steps three times. "Okay, now try." She did it correctly up until the third step. Her Sensei chuckled. "It's heavy, huh?"

"That is an understatement," the girl replied. Her Sensei laughed.

"You'll get it, just keep practicing."

"Okay," she said, and continued with the series of movements while two of her younger friends went inside, and the other stayed out and practiced the low block. After about ten minutes, when she still hadn't gotten it, her Sensei took the sword back and went to get a different weapon. The girl huffed and sat on his step. "How does Leonardo do it?" her younger friend shrugged and giggled.

"So, what happens next in your story?" the girl stood and corrected her friend's low block.

"Will you keep practicing if I tell you?" the child nodded. The girl stood next to her and did low blocks with her. "Okay, so, once the guys travel from their dimension to ours, they get separated." The child nodded in acknowledgment. "Splinter, as you know, gets kidnapped and held hostage by The Shredder, April and Donnie end up in China, Raph, Mikey and Leo fall into a lake somewhere- yet to be discovered- and Karai and Casey end up in the park down the street," she pointed west. The child grinned.

"Cool! Then what?"

"Well, once they find-" her Sensei stepped out of his house and handed the girl a wooden stick, which she instantly recognised as a Jo-staff.

"Here, try this." The girl took it and smiled.

"I'm like a shorter version of Donnie." Her child friend laughed, which messed up her block.


	15. Chapter 15

The Glasses of Life

Chapter 15

Casey and Leo had trained for most of the day. Casey was getting fairly good at his sword, but the majority of training was focused on blocking and striking, as Kennedy, Splinter, and Tigerclaw had requested. Leonardo hadn't argued; he and his brothers had learned hand-to-hand combat much before they'd even been allowed to look at the weapons. Casey was skipping a lot of important practice and patience, but, as Kenn had pointed out; 'There's no time for patience.'

Raph had come out to watch Casey train, and to help him practice some sparring, claiming it would help him get the feel of a real battle. Raph had yet to land a hit on him, and Leonardo could tell he wasn't trying. Although, watching Casey practice and get something right did give Leonardo a strange essence of satisfaction. Like when he'd accomplished something he'd been practicing for weeks. _Finally, finally training was paying off,_ he'd thought. Leonardo watched Casey step into an outside block and smiled. _Finally, teaching is paying off_.

The back door creaked, and Leo turned to face the sound. Sure enough, Kennedy was walking towards them, pissed as ever.

"Hi," she huffed. Leonardo lifted a brow and raised his arms slightly.

"Hey?" when she responded by glaring at him, he cleared his throat. "Am I doing something wrong?"

"Like I'd know," she murmured. Leonardo decided to hold off on pointing out that Kennedy was fairly good with a sword. "Raph isn't trying to hit him," she stated. Leo nodded, not wanted to piss her off any more.

"He doesn't want to hurt him."

"I do." And with that, she walked towards the duo. Leonardo pondered whether he should stop her. No, bad idea, she was angry enough, she probably just needed to hit something. She grabbed Raph's fist in mid-strike, twisted, and flipped him over her shoulder. Casey stopped dead. "That," Kennedy turned to him while brushing the dirt off of her hands "is called Twisted Pressure."

"Sick," Casey said with a smirk. They got into fighting stances. Kennedy lunged and knocked Casey over. She punched his left eye. He tried to push her off but for someone so agile, Kennedy was heavy. After a bit, she hopped off of him and stood, waiting for him to get up or not. He did.

"A real enemy wouldn't have stopped."

"I know," he said, and ran awkwardly towards her, with his arms at his sides. Kennedy side-kicked his face. Blood exploded out of his nose and upper lip. She was on him again, literally on him, like a koala in its mothers pouch, throwing bullet punches all over his face, neck, collar bones. Casey jumped onto his stomach, burying Kennedy under him. He drew back for a powerful punch, leaving his face exposed. Kennedy head-butted him. She elbowed his solar plexus and kneed his pelvis. Not in the balls, just above. He gasped, and she brought her other elbow around and smacked his cheek, although, she'd been aiming for his neck. She sat up and pushed him backwards. She hopped back from him, waiting again. Casey struggled to his feet.

"What would you do in a real fight?" Casey rose shakily, and picked up his baseball bat. Kennedy slipped on her claws. She lunged, and Casey brought the bat to his face and blocked. He wasn't focusing on his lower half, so the pain in his shin and knee was unexpected. Kennedy went to uppercut his jaw, but her fist met aluminum. Her other fist made contact. Casey, though at a disadvantage, hatched an idea. He allowed himself to fly and crash to the ground (though he could have flipped and landed on his feet). He put on a show and struggled to get up.

Kennedy ignored Raph's cries to stop, and that she was going to kill him, and flew towards him, prepared to strike again. Casey rose rather quickly then, raised his bat and swung, not bothering to aim. He hit Kennedy with a _clang_ and she spun from the impact, collapsing in a heap. No one moved.

The girl in the blue baseball cap felt a sting in her temple. She gasped and jumped back from the reflex bag. By the time she touched her head, the sting was gone. She removed her hand cautiously. No sting. "Weird," she said, and moved close enough to sidekick the bag.

Kennedy jumped to her feet and kicked Casey in the back of his knees. He fell forward, right into her upper cut…

The girl upper cut the reflex bag and, once it came back to her; elbowed it and jumped to its side…

Kennedy elbowed Casey's cheek and jumped to his side. She raised her leg, and-

-Side kicked the bag over.

-Side kicked him over. Hatred was burning through her mind. Sadism, violence, death wishing. Someone grabbed her from behind. She didn't resist. Why bother, she was already dead. By the looks of him, Casey may be as well.

"Kennedy, stop!"

"'Kay," she replied half-heartedly.

Later, after she'd made a Deliscio's pizza for the guys (she was too occupied to cook by hand) Kennedy sat with them to work out a plan. It was Wednesday, 7:32pm, December 1st.

"So the Kraang took the mutant slaves back to Dimension X," Leonardo said. Kennedy nodded and lifted her tea to her lips. She wasn't in the mood for pizza. Or food. "Then, since we've been there before," he looked at his brothers before continuing. "We should go and free them."

"It may prove useful to bring April and Jones with you," Kennedy said. She probably should have expected the confused expressions.

"Why?" asked Donnie with conflicting emotions. Kennedy sighed.

"Because; April is now decent with her powers as well as her fighting skills, and Jones is now… uh, decent."

" _If_ he can ever walk again," growled Raphael.

"Jesus Christ," Kennedy murmured and rubbed her temples. It was no exaggeration to say that Raph had been pestering Kennedy with 'what the hell were you thinking?!' and 'you could have killed him!' all day. Her head was killing her and she was out of Advil and Tylenol. 'Why don't you just heal yourself?' they'd also been asking her that all day. The guys had all gotten very suspicious after she'd refused to heal Donnie's lip, claiming that she didn't want him to grow immune to the power, or some made up garbage like that. Leo had gotten them off of her back for the most part, but after the incident with Casey… well, Kenn was on her own.

"I told you: I'm fine. Kenn healed me," Casey said. Kennedy had dug through her bag and found her modified focus enhancement, power strengthener, and energy booster before tending to Casey's injuries. She knew using more than one at a time was incredibly dangerous, but, what else could she do? Casey would have suffered permanent damage if Kenn hadn't healed him, and Raph would have never let her live it down.

Although, the drugs had made her hallucinate for 30 minutes. Leonardo and Tigerclaw had convinced the others that it was because she was pushing herself way past her boundaries to be there to heal every single injury and foresee every little problem. Casey had been offering his assistance to her a lot more than she was used to, since. She assumed it was guilt, but she rarely accepted his help.

"Anyways, he knows what real pain feels like now. I can't say you would have taught him that," Kennedy growled under her breath. Raph curled his lip up but didn't argue. "So, Leo, take April and Casey with you?"

"Alright."

"Good. Then, me, Karai, Splinter, Sam and Tigerclaw will try to take care of the pest situation in New York."

"Uh, that's: Karai, Splinter, Sam, Tigerclaw and I," Donnie corrected.

Ignoring him, Kennedy rose and walked towards her window. She placed her hands on the ledge and stared out for a long time, saying nothing. One by one, the group broke apart and went outside for some last minute training. The only one that stayed was Karai. The girl stood next to Kennedy, waiting patiently. Kennedy sighed, for a C+ student, Karai sure didn't miss much.

"Are you going to tell me?" Kenn was silent. She'd been mentally kicking herself for not telling Karai about the loss of her powers, and dignity, but, there hadn't been a good time. Plus, Kennedy _really_ didn't want to bring it up. But now that she'd kept so much, there was too much to explain. So much that she'd kept hidden, she couldn't even explain it to herself. Time, time that didn't need to be wasted.

"No point-"

"I want the basics, Kennedy. At least." Kennedy only partially registered the fact that Karai had raised her voice, and was silent for a while. How would she explain it? How could she tell Karai in a way so she wouldn't freak out? The answer was simple: she couldn't. Kennedy tightened her grip on the windowsill and breathed once.

"I lost the powers…" there really wasn't much else to say. Of course, Karai lifted a brow and tilted her head.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, they're gone. I can't use them anymore; Kraang helped Shredder steal them from me." Karai was shaking her head, looking slightly scared.

"No, you're not making any sense."

"Keep telling yourself that, hon." Kennedy was in no mood to explain, much less argue. Karai went pale and her eyes were wide. "I mutated myself to get the powers, and that's cheating; against the rules I didn't know existed." Karai's mouth was a-gape. Kennedy actually laughed. "I know, right? It's crazy, me; the genius, not knowing something…"

"Kenn-"

"They mutated Shredder to get the powers, and…" her shallow grin turned upside-down quickly. Hatred was clearly visible on her features. "Apparently, he's 'more experienced' than me, so all of a sudden, he's invincible with these powers he had handed to him on a silver fucking platter, he's only had them for a few months! And suddenly-!" Kennedy took a moment to compose herself before continuing. "… And suddenly, he's Superman. I've had these powers for nearly _a year_ now, I've trained, I've practiced, _perfected_." Karai watched as her friend's sanity crumbled in front of her.

After waving her hands in front of her while making various faces, Kennedy let her arms fall to her sides, and then, she flopped onto her butt, like a puppet whose strings had been cut. "It's not fair," she whispered. Then, suddenly sure that was what she wanted to say, Kennedy looked up, wide-eyed at her best-friend, and repeated herself, louder: "It's just not fair!" Kennedy squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her teeth so hard Karai was afraid she'd break them. "He gets the powers he didn't even want until I beat his ass with them, the powers that were rightfully _mine_!" despite what her Sensei said, Kennedy knew she'd created them, tested them, she'd _earned_ those powers.

They'd been hers before any adult ever discovered them… that was the problem: whenever a kid like her found something amazing, and worked on it, grew into it, grew to love it, some selfish adults would 'confiscate' it, claim that because she was a child, she had no right to it, that she didn't know how to use it (even though she was the one who'd practiced it for years and those adults didn't even know what it was), that it would make her a hazard to herself and others, simply because she was a child. 'Children don't know how to think,' they'd say. 'Children are too naïve and easily influenced to be trusted with this.' 'You can't use this responsibly, ta-ta,' that was an adult phrase Kennedy absolutely _detested_ ; _ta-ta_. Who was the idiot that came up with that? Probably some stupid old granny, afraid that her grandchild was growing smarter than her.

Kennedy smirked, to Karai's confusion. That was what scared adults; youth intelligence. And resourcefulness. Adults didn't like to be kicked off of their 'oh-so-mighty throne', especially by kids. So they took away anything kids could do that was special, and killed it. And they ingrained it, especially on little kids, that being different was tolerable, but being 'special', that was forbidden. That was why Kennedy liked Sam so much, why she'd offered to babysit him so much. He could see aura, a gift Kennedy had been trying to mutate into herself for years. She'd been upset one night, but had acted completely normal, smiled, joked, horsed around with Miles, made a delicious dinner, she'd even fixed Miles' IPhone.

Then once it was bedtime, and she and Sam were alone, he'd asked her why she was black instead of blue. Blue was the usual colour of her aura, calm tranquil blue. He'd also asked her who 'Cliff' was. She'd been missing her Sensei because it was the day he'd died.

"Sam what do you mean?" she'd ruffled his blond curls (before he was mutated, Sam was a freckle-faced blond boy with a thing for blue over-all's) and he'd smiled, blinked, then spoke:

"The black had 'Cliff' written all over the swirls in really dark purple. Really dark purple is a bruise." Thankfully, Kennedy had been fluent in Sam's language of colour, or she would have thought him antic. His words had clicked after she thought them over, and she'd knelt next to his bed and explained that Cliff was her Sensei, and this was his one year death anniversary.

"There's a bruise on my heart, Sammy," she'd said sadly. Then, more serious, she had leaned close to his ear and whispered: "Sammy, you can't tell anyone you see these things. No one but me. They'll try to take it away from you-"

"Who will?" Kennedy's expression hardened.

"Adults, that's who, and if they can't take it away, they'll kill you, of that I can assure." Sam had looked ready to wet himself. He'd been seven back then. "So you have to promise me, it's just us, okay?"

"Okay." Kennedy grinned and ruffled his hair again.

"Hey, you can still… do it, in fact, I want you to do it, every chance you get, just don't tell anyone else."

Kennedy wondered if Sam had been practicing like she'd asked.

"Adult's ruin everything," she murmured.

Karai whipped her head around to stare.

Kennedy blinked, how long had she been thinking…? Oh well, it didn't matter. What mattered was killing Shredder, proving to everyone that being a kid didn't cripple her, proving to Tyler, to Sensei, to even Splinter, definitely to Shredder, to Sam, and most importantly, to herself. She was strong, stronger than the turtles, than Karai, than Tyler, and Kennedy knew she was stronger than Shredder, powers or no powers. She could probably hold her own against him while blindfolded, at least for a little while. Oh, and keeping Karai and her brothers safe, of course, that was priority one. Proving that she was better than the man they all feared, well, that was icing on the cake. She nodded to herself. Suddenly, Kennedy felt like herself again, and she laughed. "I know what I'm doing, I always do," she said, more to herself than anyone.

"I hope so," said Karai with worried eyes, and with that, she left Kennedy alone in her exercise room.

"You know what to do," Kennedy reassured herself. "You're Kennedy the Genius, Kennedy the Fighter, Kennedy the Artist, Kennedy the Comedian, Kennedy…" Kennedy stopped talking. She strode calmly to her stairs and looked down. There was no one within listening distance. She considered checking her art room, but no one was stupid enough to go in there without her permission. The spare bedroom? Nah. Even if Leo and Karai were in there, they'd know not to bug her. Besides, Karai had just left.

Nodding slowly to herself, Kennedy walked to the couch, sat quietly, and sobbed. It was as sudden as a snapping twig. It was bent too far, bending, bending, bending… _snap!_ At first, Kennedy didn't recognise her sobs, she hadn't cried in so long, they sounded like they were coming from another person. For a split second, she'd thought she wasn't alone. But when the sharp gasps were heard, and she felt air stab her lungs, she knew it was her that the sounds were coming from.

"No," she whispered to herself. "No, I'm…" she wasn't Kennedy the Genius, she was Kennedy who studied. She wasn't Kennedy the Fighter, she was Kennedy who trained. Hard. Every day. Although she was creative, she hadn't sketched in so long; her artistic inspiration was drained. And her best jokes consisted of snarky comebacks. She wasn't Kennedy the anything, she realised with a sob. She was just, Kennedy. Kennedy Jennet Honors. That was all she was, a smart, decent looking girl that had something very special stolen from her. A smart, decent looking girl that knew adults abused the youth of today. A smart, decent looking girl that, once her friends were ready, was going to prove to everyone that she could beat the Shredder. Or…

"… Die trying," Kennedy finished her thought out loud.

The girl in the blue baseball cap sat on her Sensei's porch with her younger friend, one earbud in, only half listening to her Sensei talk to his friend- who the girl was taking guitar lessons from- about the government. She'd listened to him talk about them before, a lot, and he'd convinced her. She tried to avoid buying prescription drugs and such things that weren't necessary for survival, and instead looked up natural cures. She didn't go to fast food places much, and grew most of her own food, however, she still bought meat, since her back yard was no farm. She also invited her younger friend over more frequently for meals, since, though she loved her younger friends parents, they were food impaired.

The richest people in the world were the pharmacists and fast food people. She also believed that the legalisation of marijuana would be a decent idea, considering the miracles it could work if you took out the part that made you high. Her Sensei had told her about the amazing story, although, shamefully, she didn't remember most of it.

The song she was listening to was Painted Smile by Madame Macrebe. It was a Creepy Pasta thing.

"Hey, Mel?" the girl's younger friend tapped her shoulder. Mel looked at her and smiled.

"Yep?"

"What happens next in your story?" the two were taking a break from training because Mel's younger friend, Quinn, had complained that it was too hot to train.

"Well, once my character finds Casey and Karai, they go back to his place and try to recover from their little: "Final Battle" with The Shredder. And after a while, the other's come to find them, first Mikey and Leo show up, Rai's really happy to see him, as you can imagine." Quinn nodded. "Then Raph shows up, then Donnie and April. Eventually-"

"What about Splinter?" Mel was silent for a minute, and then she took a breath and looked Quinn in the eyes.

"In my story, at this point, Splinter's dead." Quinn gasped, as Mel expected of the 11 year old. "Shredder stabbed him with his claws, because he jumped in front of a younger soldier to protect him. It's not a happy moment," Mel said with a shrug.

"Why couldn't it have been Raph?" Mel laughed and patted Quinn's head.

"Because that's too random. It doesn't affect _everyone_ if Raph dies, but when Splinter dies, well…"

"I get it," Quinn said sadly. Then, she grinned again. "How do you come up with these stories, anyway?" Mel shrugged.

"I really like TMNT, what can I say?" Quinn lifted a brow and smirked, staring at Mel's shirt. It was a TMNT T-shirt in comic print black and white. "Honestly, most of the stories I write, I make up, but, this one…" Mel motioned with her hands in front of her as if trying to draw in the air, then huffed and said: "I had a dream about it. I have been having dreams about it since grade ten."

"Wow, really?" Mel was going into college in two weeks.

"Yeah, but they've been getting more clear recently. I even find myself daydreaming about the next chapter… and, it's so much fun to write about!" Mel and Quinn giggled for no reason. Then, Mel sighed, and looked at the sky. "Hey Quinn?"

"Yeah?"

"Wouldn't it be amazing if the turtles were real?"


	16. Chapter 16

The Glasses of Life

Chapter 16

Dawn opened its eyes when Kennedy woke everyone up. She'd made a large breakfast, and made everyone eat all of it, since she could only pack so much food for a trip on foot. Kennedy supposed having a licence didn't matter if she didn't have a car. Fortunately, she knew of a camp ground near her house, only 25 km away or so. She'd hiked there once and stayed for two days. There would be trucks for employees there, she would use those.

The group was for long walks like cats were for a swim, especially with Mikey's jumpiness, and Leonardo's leg; they'd had to stop about three times so he could rest it. Kennedy, regretting that she hadn't forced Leo to let her heal him when she had her powers, had threatened that she would get Tigerclaw to carry him bridal style if he couldn't walk fast enough. He hadn't complained since.

The woods were in decent shape since she'd last hiked. Some of the trees had died, and were toppled over, but others stood in sickly shades of green and brown. The path they walked was dirt, and covered in twigs and stuck up roots. As if to emphasise Kennedy's discovery, Karai tripped over one of the roots and fell onto her hands and knees. She got up quickly and kept walking. The moss was a blanket on Kennedy's left, while dirt covered the forest to her right. She'd picked some of the moss and wrapped it around a cut on Mikey's arm (he'd been caught in a thorn bush) since she hadn't packed any Band-Aids.

Kennedy was distracted in her mind. What would happen when they arrived at the city? What would happen if the Kraang captured the guys? What would happen if Shredder captured her crew? Where was Miles in all of this? What would happen to her if anything went wrong? What if… what if she didn't walk away? Kennedy shook her head. _Don't think like that_.

She'd planned to go back with the guys to their 'lair', and then they would head to TCRI and hop one of their portals to Dimension X, while she stayed back with her crew to kill the killer. Perfect. The SOB would finally get what was coming to him. Kennedy ran over how she was going to kill him: the moment he was within view, nothing fancy, no showing off, just run at him and kill. Use her Shuko's, bam, bam, bam, and she wasn't going to stop until she was sure he wasn't breathing; she couldn't take chances with a man like Shredder.

"April?" Kennedy turned when she heard Donnie's voice. April had stopped walking. Her eyes were all white, and, Kennedy noted, she was levitating about two inches off the ground. It was an early sign of Super Prediction for someone who was new to the power. Kennedy had done that a few times before she learned to control it. "April?" Donnie tried to grab her hand.

"Stop!" Kennedy hadn't meant to yell but, whatever got his attention worked. Donnie jumped about ten feet into the air. "Don't touch her, she's having a Super Prediction. You'll get sucked in if you touch her, and you have _no_ idea if you want to see that." Donnie and everyone else didn't respond. "Plus, it sends you into a psy-coma. April doesn't have the power to revive you from that yet." _It's sad that they're gonna believe that._

"Why couldn't you?" Kennedy kept her face neutral.

"Um, because it's not _my_ prediction," she lied, phrasing it like Donnie should have known the answer. Donnie blushed and looked down.

"Oh. Y-yes, of course." April suddenly dropped, her eyes regained irises and pupils. She staggered but Donnie caught her. Kennedy had to admit, Donnie and April rivaled Leo and Karai in the adorable department. "April, are you okay?"

"I-I-uh…"

"She's probably really shaken up," Kennedy supplied, and approached the duo, with the others not far behind. "Hey, April." Kennedy snapped her fingers in front of April's face. She seemed not to see them, but Kennedy knew she'd heard. "Her eyes are just a bit wonky," she said to Donnie. "No big deal, it happened to me my first time."

"Wh-h-how did you make it…?" he couldn't finish his sentence. Kennedy answered him by slapping April across her face. It echoed through the forest. Before anyone reacted, April blinked, and looked at Kennedy, then at Donnie.

"Wh-what just-"

"SP, what did you see?" Kennedy talked slower than usual and louder. April blinked a few times, than sputtered out:

"Guys.. I… I think… Miles is with The Shredder…"

After April had snapped out of her trance, it was nearly night. Kennedy had sat April next to Raph and Casey while she and Donnie tried to light a fire. They hadn't made it to Kennedy's camp ground because of all the stops they'd had to make, but they were close. Kenn would have powered through if she were alone, but Leonardo's leg would not allow anymore walking, and Donnie was slowed down majorly from having to carry April on his back. Not to mention Mikey's constant complaints of hunger. Sam was surprisingly quiet during the trip.

For their dinner, Kennedy had smuggled four pounds of ground beef, some apples and oranges, a bag of broccoli, and a loaf of bread, plus one water bottle per mouth. Once she'd gotten the fire started, Kennedy decided to cook half of the beef, and she's split the oranges and apples in half and give them to whoever wanted one. Maybe she'd search the woods for the allusive sugar root they'd told her about at that camp for a dessert.

Mikey and Sam had collected sticks to roast the meat over the fire, while Kennedy split the apples and Karai peeled and split the oranges. Kennedy had the talent to break an apple in half with her bare hands without bruising it. Once the fruit was handed out, and Kennedy made a mental note of who took what, she begun to roast the beef. There was enough for approximately one very big burger patty for everyone.

"Uhg, Kennedy, hurry up," Mikey whined.

"I can't control how fast the beef cooks, Mikey, you know it's not even safe to cook it like this?" Mikey had his head turned away, asking Sam how he could stand the hunger. Sam simply shrugged and said he wasn't hungry, to which, Mikey gasped dramatically.

Mikey and Sam had become like brothers after the incident with Miles. Kennedy noticed that Tigerclaw was also growing quite attached to Mikey. It was sweet, to think of them like that. Sweeter than the blood that had surfaced on Kennedy's thumb because of her chewing.

Sticking it in her mouth, she removed the stick from the flame, shook the beef onto her backpack, and then she started cooking another pound. Mikey stared longingly at the charred meat. Kenn couldn't blame him. If she hadn't had her self-control, she would have wolfed it down in seconds: totally worth the second degree burns. But, she didn't, because she was Kennedy. Kennedy the Genius. _Kennedy who studied_.

"Hey." She didn't bother looking at him, but she did grunt in response. Casey knelt next to her, averting his eyes to stare into the fire.

"That's bad for your eyes," Kennedy said absentmindedly.

"Why do you care?" Casey retorted, just as numb.

"I don't think your eyes should suffer for your stupidity," Kennedy responded with a shrug. Casey huffed out a chuckle and, when Kennedy couldn't take frowning any longer, she smiled under the shadow of her bangs. The topic of eyes and faces drew Casey's attention to an abnormally empty part of Kennedys'.

"Kennedy, your glasses…" he didn't need to clarify when Kennedy's eyes widened and she quickly drew her hand to the bridge of her nose, were her glasses _would_ have been.

"Oh God," she whispered, more panicked than Casey liked. She moved to her bag like a cheetah, dropping the stick in her panic. Casey caught it before it burned. "Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no." Kennedy crammed her arm into her backpack up to her elbow and fumbled around. Casey was frozen with his hands grasping the stick, until he noticed her head.

"Oh, Kenn, they're on your head." She was searching too noisily to hear him, so he repeated himself, and she stopped searching. Silent at first, then, she let out a relived sigh.

"Fucking hell, Casey, don't _**do**_ that to me!"


	17. Chapter 17

The Glasses of Life

Chapter 17

The camp ground was in decent shape, being over 100 years old. The largest cabin (where the meals were prepared) was still standing, as were two others at its side. They had been counsellor cabins, Kennedy recalled. As she'd predicted, two pick-up trucks rested in the dirt next to the caf-cabin (short for cafeteria cabin). The golden rays were long forgotten, now chills moved the fallen leaves in loop-de-loops and twirls. The group was huddled together like penguins. Leonardo had made it a point to sit next to Karai.

"It'll be snowing by this time tomorrow," Kennedy murmured to no one. They'd found the camp sooner than Kennedy had hoped, since they'd likely need to move ahead before dark. She glanced at the group. The guys, once again, were looking more blue than green, and were shivering. Leo didn't look as bothered as the others. Karai had rested her chin on his head and wrapped her arms around his shoulders and neck. There was a slight smile tugging at his lips. Splinter was next to Karai, Donnie and April sat in front of him. Casey and Raph were next to them, and Tigerclaw and Sam were next to Mikey, who'd curled up beside Leo. April suddenly jerked up, staring with wide eyes at Kennedy.

Kennedy immediately stood and moved away from where she'd been sitting. A shuriken landed there once she was out of the way. "Oh hell," she grumbled, recognising the symbol on the star. "Run everyone, it's the foot!" a shuriken landed in her shoulder. She ripped it out and tossed it at the nearest foot bot. "Up, up, up! Everyone go, now! No, not together you idiots, in two groups!"

They split: Leo, Kennedy, Karai, Sam, and Mikey, then Raph, Casey, April, Donnie, Splinter, and Tigerclaw. Splinter's group immediately took to the trees. He stayed behind to watch everyone run ahead of him. The foot bots were quick to follow; about twenty of them in pursuit. One threw a Shuriken at April. She stumbled and fell from the tree branch. Splinter was about to jump and catch her, but Donnie had swung to her on a vine. Noticing, Raph and Casey grabbed vines and swung. Looking briefly to Tigerclaw, who shrugged and kept leaping from branch to branch, Splinter threw a shuriken of his own at an approaching bot and leapt away.

Kennedy had lead her group down a rocky old path she used to train in, and regretted that she did so immediately after she remembered Leonardo was in her group. He was in the back with Karai, struggling to keep up. He tripped, and Karai hauled him to his feet.

"Leo, come on!" he pushed himself up and stumbled for about three seconds, then he tripped again.

"Ah!" he gripped his leg. The foot bots were gaining quickly. _Agile little bastards_ , Kennedy threw a Shuriken at one, and sprinted towards her friends.

"Sammy, Mikey, back me up!" the duo stopped and followed her. She kicked one away from Karai and summersaulted beside her.

"Leo's stuck," Karai said, and looked down at Leo as she tugged on his arm. Sure enough; Leo's foot was caught in between two large rocks.

"Well shit." Kennedy raised her fists. "Boys, we're fighting them off, Leo's caught." Mikey and Sam raised their fists and spread their feet. Kennedy turned to Karai. "Protect him." The bots sprung. Kennedy punched one's head clear off. There were a few around Karai and Leonardo… six. Karai raised her tanto, keeping her focus on the few that were eyeing Leo. One lunged at her. She sliced, but the foot bot caught the sword. It grabbed her wrist and twisted. Karai screamed. The foot bot threw the blade aside and kicked Karai in her knees. She fell, her arm still elevated, and three bots surrounded her. Leo couldn't see what they were doing, but he could hear Karai. He yanked at his leg, wincing as he did so.

"C'mon, c'mon..." he yanked and his foot began to budge. Leo gasped through his panting. "Yes, yes! Come on," he said and yanked again. Finally, his leg shot free. Leo climbed out from the rocks, but was knocked onto his face by a foot bot. Leo growled and pushed himself back up, but the bot kicked him in the head. Leo was more annoyed than in pain, until it stepped on his leg. "AHHH!" consciousness became a milky dream, and Leo felt something snap, and then his vision was turned off like a TV.

Waking up was a tidal wave of annoyance. His first time it wasn't too bad, blurry shadows murmured gibberish until he drifted away again. The second time, the colours were cold and dark, and there was yelling, and screeches, and bangs, and he was so dizzy, and the stabby colours went silent, because an even louder noise happened. His third time was short and blurry, but the colours looked friendlier that time.

Leo tried to open his eyes again. It wasn't too bright, so he opened them wider. Still, it was dark, nearly black. Leo swallowed air and tried to speak, but nothing came out. He coughed a bit but before he could try again, the ground shifted and made his head rock.

"Leo? Are you awake?" her voice embraced him, and he exhaled with a smile, even though he couldn't see her.

"Karai?" hands touched his cheeks, and he leaned his head back to try and see her better. It was still dark, but he could see a slightly darker silhouette. A quick turn of his head, right to left, told him that he was in her lap.

"Oh, thank god…" Karai's hands relaxed against his face.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine," she was whispering, "how are you feeling?"

"I… I feel okay…" deciding to whisper as well, Leonardo tried to remember what had happened.

"How's your leg?"

"It's…" Leo twisted his bad leg, and felt a bee sting in response. "… sore." His whisper was horsed. Karai's hands spread on his cheeks, and Leo sighed at the warmth. He tried to lift his hand to touch hers, but a soft restraint protested. "What the…?" he tried to move his arms, but again, the restraint didn't allow it.

"Oh, hold on," Karai's hands slid down Leo's shoulders, down to his biceps, and Leo felt the restraint loosen. He also felt cold air bite his arms. He winced. "Sorry," Karai whispered.

"I'm… It's okay." His teeth chattered against his will. "Wh-where are w-we?" her hands were on his face again. Leo touched her hand and stared at what he assumed was her face.

"Somewhere in the forest," Karai said. Leo rolled his eyes. "I honestly don't know," she added. _You think?_ "Kenn does, but she's asleep, I wouldn't bug her."

"I… I mean where _are we_? Like, right now?"

"Oh. We're in the back of those pick-up trucks."

"Huh?"

"Kenn, Mikey, and Sam went back to get them after you passed out." Leo blinked. He'd passed out? Oh, yes, he had, he… partially remembered. He sat up but his head hit a tarp. "To keep the snow out," Karai explained.

"It's snowing?"

"A little, yeah."

"Oh…" that explained why the truck felt like boiling ice on Leo's bare skin.

"Here Leo, there's some blankets over here." Leo followed Karai's voice and the ice floor was covered by scratchy warmth. Leo sat and leaned onto his back, slightly disappointed when he felt a pillow and not Karai's lap. But the truck shifted a bit, and in the moonlight, he saw her silhouette lay next to him. Another scratchy blanket was pulled over him. Karai was close enough that he could taste her scent: lavender, honey and a hint of jasmine. Without thinking, Leo wrapped his arm around her and pulled her against him. She didn't object, and scooted closer still, snaking her arms around him. "… Leo?" the recoil of her voice slithered over his face.

"Mm-hm?" he opened his eyes into slits, which was rather pointless, since darkness allowed no vision. Karai's hand found his cheek once again.

"… C-come back, okay? From Dimension X?" Leo smiled and moved his face closer to her until their noses were touching.

"I'll do everything I can."

"No, Leo, you need to come back. All of you…" her voice was quivering and she was gripping his cheek. "… I… I can't lose you again." His hold on her tightened.

"Karai, we're not leaving forever… We'll never leave you, or the others. Kenn, Sam, even Tigerclaw." He caressed her cheek. "We'll always be together." Her hold on him tightened as well; her head rested under his chin.

"Just… promise me you'll come back?" he kissed her forehead; sealing his promise.

"Always."

Sam stared into the darkness. His Sensei was quiet, as usual, but there was no doubt in Sam's mind that he'd heard Leo and Karai as well. Sam looked over his shoulder, but the tarp made spying impossible.

"Don't spy, Sam, give them some privacy." Sam didn't flinch, but he turned back to Tigerclaw. "This is the last night they'll see each other for a while, it'll be hard for both of them."

"Sensei, are they in love?" Tigerclaw didn't bat an eye.

"No." Sam tilted his head. "No, they're not _in_ love, Sam," Tigerclaw said again.

"But they love each other?"

"Yes, they do." Sam lifted a brow.

"I don't understand, Sensei."

"Sam, Kennedy loves you, correct?" Sam thought, then nodded. "But, Raphael and Casey… they're in love. There's a difference, understand?" Sam said 'oh' and nodded.

"So, love is like, with siblings and stuff, but in love is for couples?"

"That's right." Sam yawned and stretched, lying on Tigerclaw's leg.

"Oh… that's why… Leo and Karai are red, but Raph and Casey are pinky…" Tigerclaw looked down at Sam.

"What?" Sam yawned again, letting his eyes close.

"I'm not 'upposed to talk about it," he slurred. "Kennedy said… only with her."

"Sam?"

"Night, Sensei…" Sam's muscles loosened and he began snoring softly. Tigerclaw shook off his confusion enough to grab a blanket and cover his student and himself, even though Kennedy had ordered both to watch for more foot bots.


	18. Chapter 18

The Glasses of Life

Chapter 18

Once the moon had gone back to sleep, Kennedy had started driving the pick-up truck. Donnie had noticed the movement in the other truck, and crawled into the driver's seat to follow. The noises had woken Sam, but he didn't show it. He and Tigerclaw had moved to the back to give Kennedy some room. Kennedy sure was acting weird, she hadn't even said "Good morning" to Sam. _But, she is dark red today_ … Sam glanced over his shoulder and was nearly blinded by the harsh red and creepy black that swirled around Kennedy. He looked at his Sensei; soft brown swirls covered him.

Sam knew all of the colours and what they meant: Leo was a deep, deep blue with grey and purple splotches. Purple was bruises, grey was scars. Blue was calm and gentle, sweet and quiet, loyal and trustworthy. Karai was a lighter blue, mixed with crimson, grey, purple and yellow. Crimson meant angry, and yellow meant friendship. She was lighter because she was more scared, and more anxious, and more uneasy than Leo. But the two of them together made a bright, stabby, dripping ball of red. No purple, no grey, and no crimson, this red was too dark to be crimson, but it wasn't dark red. Sam would have to remember that: _bright, drippy red is love_.

A jolt, and then the trucks stopped. The halt made Sam topple off Tigerclaw and summersault in between Leonardo and Karai. Both instantly awoke.

"I'm sorry guys," Sam said.

"Guys," the trio jumped at the sound of Kennedy's voice. "We're at the city boarder. Time to shuffle out feet."

Sam had been told to wait in the truck with Leo while the others fought the guards, because of Leo's leg and Sam's inexperience. They'd said they'd call Leo when they were done. Sam hated waiting. Leo was very uneasy as well.

"Do you think they're okay?" Leo didn't answer. He was turning lighter, and the black -fear- was taking over his blue. Sam played with a curl in his hair (or what was left of it) and sighed. "Leo, what's 'or-ah'?" he didn't know what else to talk about, and the silence was eating him alive. Leo seemed to just notice that Sam was there.

"Aura?"

"Yeah."

"Well… aura is the energy that we live off of. It's a part of our souls and spirits."

"Oh. So I can…" Sam looked at Leo again. His blue was deepening a bit. "Wow…" Sam looked at his own palms in amazement. Aura was a soul? He could see people's souls? Orange swirls engulfed his palms and fingers. Whoa… with an ability like that… "Awesome!" Sam stood and raised his arms. But something was clawing at his memory. He could feel it tugging. _Robots have no souls_. His Sensei had said that to him when they were talking about the foot bots… the foot bots… which they were going to be fighting soon… and robots had no souls. Sam's expression dropped and he sat again. "Dang it."

"Uh, Sam-?" Leo's phone began to vibrate.

After Kennedy and Donnie had hacked into the gate, the group immediately took to the sewers. Kraang droid parts and debris littered the tunnels and Donnie was having a slight allergic reaction to the dust. His sneezes were like the whistles of toy trains. April noticed a bit too well when Raph would poke fun at his brothers sneezes; she knew Donnie had always hated the way he sneezed.

The walk was quiet aside from the _slush, slush_ , of their footsteps and the _hunn, hunn_ , of their breathing, and the occasional whistle from Donnie's gap. He had trailed behind next to April. Raph and Casey were in front of them. April glared at Casey. She had no issues with gay people; Irma had been lesbian before she discovered that she was a Kraang droid, but Casey hadn't even told her he wanted to break up. She'd found out from Karai, strangely enough. They'd been sitting in Kennedy's living room doing yoga. April hadn't liked the silence. She'd asked Karai what she thought about Casey and herself. Karai had lifted a brow and said:

"I thought he broke up with you already?" April had been certain that Karai was just being rude, so, she'd left to look for Casey. She'd found him in Raph's bedroom… with Raph… kissing. She'd locked herself in her room and cried. Kennedy had picked the lock, taken one look at her; face palmed, and said: "I'm too old for this." Then she'd walked away. That had snapped her out of it. The next day she'd been training with Donnie and she'd kicked open his lip. He still had a scar. April wondered why Kennedy hadn't healed it, since, having the power herself (only slightly, she couldn't heal bones yet) she knew there was no immunity to it.

Nearing the lair always made Splinter's hair stand on end. It reminded him of when he'd first found the lair, with his four baby turtles. The first night they hadn't done anything but cuddle and sleep. They'd watched him as he trained. Then the baby turtle with the deep blue eyes and blue-green skin had attempted to copy him. The olive green child had joined. Then the lime green turtle had toddled over with his brothers. He'd taught them three block-and-strikes that day. And once his brothers were asleep; the green eyed turtle had tried what he'd observed.

They group stopped moving.

"What the…?"

"Dude, did we leave the lights on?" a flickering yellow crawled out the opening of the lair.

"I'll check it out," Kennedy stated. "Most of your minor enemies don't know me… actually…" Kennedy scanned the crowd. "Hm… they don't know Sam, either." Kennedy lifted the little mutant like she was cradling a baby. She then walked in front of the hole. Kennedy looked into the lair, and met one other shocked pair of eyes.

"There's other people," Sam whispered. "I see brown-purple-y, sharp green, and … really dull grey and pink. He's emerald and crimson." Sam's head was over Kennedy's shoulder. Kennedy nodded.

"Thanks Sammy," she murmured. To the mutant in front of her, she put on her best fear and helpless face, and tried to look weak.

"W-wait, kid," the giant turtle pleaded. _What is with all of the turtles?_ "I'm not gonna hurt you, you look like you need help." Kennedy nodded like it hurt.

"Who are you?" she sounded less intimidated than she'd like. Sam lifted his head and stared at the mutant. He was spiky and scary-looking, but Sam could see that he had no intention to hurt them; his crimson was turning brown.

"I'm Slash." Leo's aura turned completely black with crimson, and it showed on Sam's face. He started to squirm, but he couldn't speak, too late, Leo was moving, his face a mask of rage. It was all in slow motion; his swords sang as he drew them, and Sam tried to pry himself free of Kennedy, who was giving him her famous: "I'm surrounded by idiots," look. Leo charged past them, and Slash's expression blew up, and he tried to turn. Sam was free! He charged and tackled Leo before he could hit Slash.

"Leo, stop! He's not gonna-!"

"Stay back, Sam," Leo growled and pushed Sam off of him.

"Leonardo, wait, I don't want to-" Leo swung. Sam leapt onto Leo's back and dug his finger under his shell, in between his scapula and spine. Tigerclaw had shown him that. Leo wobbled, and then fell onto the floor like a sack of flour dropped from buff shoulders. Sam got up after he caught his breath. He turned, and the groups shocked faces stared at him. "Holy fudge, Sam," Kennedy finally said. Sam grinned, and then passed out. Tigerclaw rushed to his side and lifted Sam into his arms. One by one the group clustered in. Karai and Splinter knelt by Leo, and Raph snapped Slash out of his trance. "That kid's fast," he muttered.

"Abnormal," Donnie commented.

"Awesome!" Mikey added.

"Abn-awesome," Karai said, and looked up with wide eyes when she realised that she'd spoken out loud. Mikey laughed and smiled at her.

"See? Now you're getting it!"


	19. Chapter 19

The Glasses of Life

Chapter 19

Leo had woken and dozed in a loop. Karai, Splinter and Raph had stayed with him and Sam was pulled aside by Kennedy for reasons no one knew. The others, Slash introduced to his team: The Mighty Mutanimals, consisting of Slash, Dr. Rockwell, Leatherhead, and Pigeon Pete. Mikey was a chain between Leatherhead and Tigerclaw. He'd gotten them talking about their time in Dimension X, to talking about their past, to talking about Mikey and Kennedy (which was torture for the boy). They ended up back at the dreaded subject no matter what Mikey said to distract them.

"Oh, Kenny used to love inventing foods when she was younger," Tigerclaw said. "Her first was something she called: _'Oni-ange Soup'_. It was a soup consisting of onions and oranges, and a variety of spices." Mikey's mouth watered at the thought. Leatherhead nodded and, in his raspy growl, replied:

"Yes, I would guess so." It was a sad attempt to distract from what was soon to happen. Donnie and Kennedy were in the lab, tinkering with the portal to Dimension X. Soon it would be up and running, and he and his brothers would have to go back. The unknown dangers and horrors had become a wandering shadow of thought since the return, slithering along their minds and spreading until it consumed every thought.

Sam was sitting in front of the TV watching Space Heroes with Leo and Karai, who'd just left the lab looking grimmer than the reaper. She and Leo were sitting very close to each other. Mikey had assumed they'd wanted some time, so, he'd stayed with Leatherhead and Tigerclaw. Sam eventually got board of the show and joined the trio.

"She'd made the soup for the ill. It was a hit at the dojo, and surprisingly tasty." Tigerclaw looked over his shoulder at the lab entrance, then: "Don't tell her I said that." They laughed. Mikey looked at them. They were like two men in a bar talking about the weather, like they were _friends_. Not best-friends, not ' _known you forever_ ' friends, but friends, buddies, pals talking about their daughter and son.

"I remember when I first came to this place," Leatherhead began, "Michelangelo gave me pizza-noodle-soup." Leatherhead smiled with jagged fangs at Mikey. "The best thing I ever tasted." Mikey grinned. Sam was looking at the floor, and leaning into Tigerclaw. They were silent for a while. Mikey thought about the way they looked at each other. Sam wouldn't look at Leatherhead, which Mikey couldn't really grippe about; Sam was only a kid: he had a right to be scared.

Tigerclaw looked at Mikey as a friend of Kennedy, a friend of Sam, a friend of his children. Mikey saw Tigerclaw as the type of dude that would treat his kids friends like one of his own, even though he wasn't Sam's or Kennedy's dad. Then again; he was the closest both had to a father, Kenn's being dead, and Sam's being who _knew_ where?

Tigerclaw was looking at Leatherhead in his eyes, and, Mikey realised, Leatherhead was looking back. Leatherhead wasn't an eye-looker; he kept his eyes on the floor. He never even looked at _Mikey_ in the eyes. Then, Mikey realised something else; Karai wasn't an eye-looker either. But she was looking at Leo in the eyes, wasn't she? Mikey glanced back at them. Sure enough, they were forehead to forehead, staring into each other's eyes. So emotional, Mikey had to look away. He felt like he was invading on someone else's sacred moment simply by being in the same room. Through his peripheral vison, Mikey saw Leo's lips move, but the TV was too loud to hear him. Karai seemed to relax, but her expression was still plagued with tension when Mikey saw his oldest brother give her a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"Mikey." Mikey jumped at the voice. Sam was staring at him with empty eyes. "It's not nice to stare." Mikey lifted a brow, and tried to look back and Leo and Karai, but Sam's face hardened into an expression no 11 year old should ever pull off. "Leave them alone, they're scared."

"… They're _scared_?" Sam put a finger to his lips, and then whispered:

"Yeah. Neither of them wants to leave the other, but they have to, and they're scared one won't be there when they come back." Mikey blinked.

"How do you know that?" Mikey though he saw a smirk before Sam responded.

"I see it in their souls, their aura. I can see aura." Before Mikey could ask, Kenn and Donnie emerged from the lab.

After gearing up, the turtles and April and Casey stood at the portal entrance with sad and determined faces. Sam was holding Tigerclaw's paw. The Mighty Mutanimals were hanging back, but Slash and Raphael shared a nod. Karai was practically hiding under Splinter's arm. Kennedy was in front, giving orders, as usual.

"… And don't hang around for the view, okay guys? Get your arses right back here as soon as you're done, hear me? I don't feel like suffering a heart attack today or any day."

"Loud and clear, Kennedy," Leo said and made a sincere mock salute. Kennedy saw his eyes flicker over her shoulder and soften, and then he looked back at her. One by one, they entered the portal, each step they took Kennedy felt worse and worse, but she stood firm. _Can't move, too late to move_. Casey, who was bringing up the rear, stepped into the portal, and then it vanished. Someone sobbed behind Kennedy. Someone else whimpered. Kennedy stood still, staring at where the portal had been mere seconds ago, which was probably hours ago to the guys by now. She sighed, and turned to face her team. _Her team_. Her expression hardened.

"Let's go."

She wasn't training; she was sitting on her Sensei's porch with Quinn, eating a piece of chicken he'd given her. She'd run out of food at her house weeks ago; so, her Sensei had been feeding her. He'd told her not to feel bad about it, so, she didn't. Quinn was also eating her dinner, but it came from her house.

Mel had felt the dread she kept hidden in the depths of her mind surface, much stronger than last time. It actually made her heart speed up.

"Y'alright, Grass-hopper?" her Sensei asked. Mel, masking her annoyance that he'd noticed her expression, glanced over her shoulder and nodded.

"I just feel a little bad. I don't know why. Maybe the hormonal imbalance that comes with puberty is finally starting?" Mel was 18, 19 in three days. Her Sensei laughed and nodded. Mel finished her piece of chicken. She lifted a potato wedge and bit half of it off.

"Go hit the bag," her Sensei commanded after she swallowed. Mel nodded and rose. She stood in front of the reflex bag, sizing it up, and then she elbowed it. It swung back, then forward into Mel's waiting fist. "Don't lean towards your opponent." Mel tried again, keeping her weight in the center, her extended foot bent inwards. The bag moved back towards her, and she summer-salted to its side and round-house kicked it. Ten minutes later, her Sensei told her to stop and finish her supper. Mel obeyed. "Feel better now?" Mel saw no point or reason to lie.

"No, not really." Mel's Sensei stared for a minute, and then he told Quinn to go and hit the bag. Mel lowered it for her young friend, and then sat back with her Sensei.

"… Is it your Ma?" he was so quiet Mel almost hadn't heard him.

"No."

"You sure?"

"Mm-hm." Mel's mother was in jail for a year for a drunk driving accident. Her Sensei had been quick to offer her a place at his house if she felt uneasy about sleeping in her house alone. Back then; she hadn't even learned her first kata. She'd stayed with him for three days, only returning to feed her fish or to work on her story, the rest of her time was spent outside training or playing with the children. She'd gotten a job at the book store near her house to help pay for the rent.

"Like I said, Sensei, probably just hormones." She didn't go back to her house until eleven at night. Her Sensei walked her across the plaza to her door, sensing her need for human contact. The co-op they lived in was desolate in the mornings and evenings, but at night it was crawling with creeps. Mel's Sensei walked away after giving her a wide, sympathetic grin. Mel pulled her key out of her back pocket, unlocked her door, and stepped into her house. She washed her hair and body in the shower, and her face afterwards. She drank a tea while in her towel and then brushed her teeth. She went to her room and her light flickered on. Her fish, Patchless, was floating upside down in his bowl. Mel relaxed, and lifted the bowl into her arms. She went back into the bathroom, dumped it into the toilet, and flushed. As Patchless was sucked down the vortex, Mel actually teared up.

" _She wears a little gowned,_

 _Her body feels so cold,_

 _Soaked up by the water,_

 _Like the stories-untold._

 _Here and there with some scars,_

 _Her hands so violet,_

 _It's the end that she chose,_

 _It's too late for regret._

 _Her eyes are wide open,_

 _The look she has is sad,_

 _No desire to live,_

 _She chose to be dead."_

Mel turned off the light in her bathroom and when back to her room. She lifted a too-big sweater off of her floor and put it on with a pair of PJ shorts. She lay in her bed and closed her eyes. After about 10 minutes of trying to sleep, she sighed, turned to her side, and flicked on her nightlight.


	20. Chapter 20

The Glasses of Life

Chapter 20

Mikey slipped and dropped from the tree (or what looked like a tree) onto his bottom. He winced and help up his right palm. A slit from his thumb to his second finger was bright red against his lime skin. _Damn…_

"Mikey!" he heard Leo call from above. Mikey rose and clawed back up the tree. He found his eldest brother hanging from a branch, dangling like laundry in the wind.

"Hang on, bro!" Mikey gripped a branch, clenched his legs around the trunk, and; with his injured hand, pushed Leonardo up. He stumbled onto the branch, hugging the trunk and sweating. Leonardo had never liked heights.

"Th-thanks, Mikey." The strange crystal trunks and branches were much sharper and more slippery than the trees on Earth. Casey had taken a nasty tumble the first climb and he'd twisted his knee. April had levitated him up then, which had been awesome to watch. However she'd lost most of her energy after and Donnie had carried her up on his back. Raph was with Casey now. They'd been in Dimension X for three days, no sign of any Kraang or mutated people.

Mikey propped himself onto the branch below Leonardo and stared at his surroundings. A cold steel floor for grass, crystals for trees, pink smog for a blue sky, purple mist for clouds. It would be scenic another time, even romantic, minus the Technodrones and droids. He would have loved to take his future date-friend here if it were Kraang free. He sighed. _What future date-friend?_ He was a mutant; no human would ever want him… not even someone as nice as April or Kennedy. Besides, Don liked April, and Kennedy liked Karai. Mikey hadn't been shocked when Kenn had told him that; he'd seen a note at her bedside, something she'd planned to give Karai, but she'd decided against it. She'd told him after he'd asked her if she would hang out with him sometime when they weren't training.

Mikey wondered how Kenn and her team were doing back on Earth. Had they beaten Shredder and returned to the lair yet? He hopped to god they hadn't gotten hurt. The sky was turning more purple than pink, a sign they knew meant night was coming. It was agreed that Mikey would stand guard for the first few hours. He sighed and leaned against the crystal trunk. They were never going to find the humans…

Fluttering, like dragonfly wings.

Mikey opened his eyes. A tiny creature: wings of a dragonfly, body of a human, hair like snakes. It stopped moving and turned itself towards Mikey. Mikey froze. Was he hallucinating? He swished his tongue around and felt the breathing tube, no punctures. He must be imagining it…

"Mikey?" the creature said. It was naked, but tiny. Mikey couldn't see anything besides its silhouette and face. And the marks the climbed her tiny body: black and red stripes. "Michelangelo?" she fluttered towards him, stopping in front of his face. Now he could see her more clearly. He blushed and averted his eyes.

"Y-yes?" the creature floated back a bit and sunk down, landing on his knee pad. She crossed her legs and played with a strand of her hair.

"What are you doing here?" Mikey rubbed the back of his neck and took a breath that seemed too loud.

"I-uh… we're looking for the mutated humans." He tried to ignore the pure insanity of the situation. The creature nodded, put a finger to her chin, then her tiny eyes widened.

"The ones from the mines?" Mikey lifted a brow.

"The mines?"

"Where they dig for the crystals. Like the ones you sit on now." Mikey's eyes widened.

"Where is the mine?" was he really talking to a fairy? She twitched and fluttered up again, pointing to his right.

"You can see it through the trees…" Tiny trailed off, then began to fly away. Mikey stood, stumbled, and then steadied himself.

"Wait!"

"I can't, the alarm's… I'll be late for school!" before Mikey could ask; the creature was gone. He heard a gasp. April jerked up and put a hand over her heart.

"Hey, April!"

"Mikey, is that you?"

"Yeah, are you okay?" April seemed to see something that wasn't there, and then she nodded.

"I… I saw… no, I _sensed_ something…"

"Oh?"

"Yeah, it was… it was like… I could tell it was another human… but… it felt like me…" Mikey lifted a brow, but April didn't say any more. "Never mind, I probably had a dream."

"I know where the humans are."

Mel hated waking up, especially from dreams, but, she had college. But what a weird dream… it felt so real… it had bothered her all day, but she pushed it aside. She had no friends yet; she couldn't talk about it until she went home to her Sensei. The other students gave her looks as she walked, which she'd become an expert at ignoring over the years.

That evening, her Sensei picked her up. They stopped at Dairy Queen, and then they picked up her Sensei, Wayne's, kids from school.

"Mel!" they hug-rushed her. Only for them would Mel ever hug. On their way home, Mel let the kids, Dylan and Grace, share the rest of her blizzard.

"Sensei?" Wayne turned down his radio.

"Yeah?"

"I had a dream…" her Sensei was quiet, then:

"Me too." Mel lifted a brow.

"Really? _You_ remembered a dream?"

"Yeah, but you go first."

"Okay, well…" Mel explained that she'd been floating. She'd caught her reflection in a crystal and she'd had wings. And she'd been naked, which hadn't really bothered her at first. She'd had stripes too; black and red. She'd recognised her surroundings as Dimension X from TMNT (she'd just watched an episode before she'd gone to bed). And then she'd seen people… with Kraang heads and arms, cutting crystals. Then she'd seen the TMNT in her dream. She'd talked to Mikey, and told him where the people were. Then she'd been woken up by her alarm clock. "The fairy I looked like," began Mel, "It's from a novel I'm working on. The not fan fiction one. Her name's Laura." Her Sensei nodded.

"I dreamt about the turtles too."

"Whaaaat?"

"Yep, but it was pretty gory."

"Oh…" Mel wasn't sure she wanted to hear the rest of it.

"They all were murdered by that Shredder guy. Then he committed suicide." Mel looked at him with a lifted brow.

"You are a sick man, even in your dreams." Wayne laughed and turned the radio back up. Once they got to their co-op, Mel saw Quinn sitting on her porch. She noticed Mel and got up, jumping up and down. Mel smiled and rolled her eyes. She got out of the car and Quinn ran to her. The world stopped and turned dark at that moment: Quinn was crying. It looked like she'd been crying for a long time.

"Mel! Mel!" Mel caught her by the shoulders.

"Quinn, hey!" Quinn was clutching her brother's phone. She was breathing and coughing and panting and crying like a gassed animal. "Quinn, Quinn, Quinn, hey," Mel grabbed Quinn's face and made her look at her. "Why are you freaking out?"

"B-because… be-because… I-I was on… on the T-TMNT w-website, and-and I was looking for the next episode, and-and…" she was handing Mel the phone. Mel took it and read. "Th-they can… they, they can-" Mel gasped as her own eyes teared up.

"THEY CANCELLED TMNT?!"


	21. Chapter 21

The Glasses of Life

Chapter 21

They'd said it was just a dream. They'd said he'd imagined it. Donnie had checked his air tank for punctures. But he eventually got them to listen, and told them what Tiny had said last night.

"You can see it through the trees." Then the acute interest of the group died.

"That's it: he's crazy," murmured Raphael. Others mumbled in agreement.

"I am not!" Michelangelo huffed. "You don't know what's on this planet, I saw her." Had he not cocked his head ever so slightly, had he not had a stiff neck from sleeping in a tree, had he been standing in any different spot; Mikey would have missed it. "Hey," he said and approached the crystal trees. He stood on his toes.

"What the hell are you doing?" Mikey smirked, stood aside, and pointed down the line of forked crystal trees.

"Who's crazy now?"

It had taken them minutes to climb out of the sewers. More minutes to trash droids that got in their way. More minutes to fight off the ambushes. Minutes, minutes, minutes; minutes Kennedy couldn't afford to waste. She had to reach The Shredder, had to kill him, had to. Every breath he took was a stain on her pride that had to be wiped clean.

"Ambush!" Kennedy had assumed they'd run into one, being about one block away from Shredders dojo. Even without her powers Kennedy was fast. She'd destroyed three bots before the others heard her warning. _Perfect old me_. Kennedy kicked another in the head and it sling-shot with a sickening snap. The bot was flung to the ground by gravity. And then Kennedy saw it: blood.

Flying the Technodrone was easy, but stealing it had cost them 20 minutes and an even more messed up knee for Casey. April had been trying to heal it since boarding the drone. Mikey flew with cool confidence, enjoying the fact that he was the only one that could fly the thing. Kraang codes were just the right amount of crazy for him.

"How's the retro mutagen coming, Donnie?" Leo asked for the third time. Donnie grunted while twisting away with his screw driver. He'd been working with what little retro he had, and managed to find a way for it to convert regular mutagen into retro mutagen by making the liquids touch. Holding him back; however, was unscrewing the hinges on the top of the mutagen so he could poor it in.

"Bloody screws," he murmured.

Mikey didn't have to think to know the feelings that pushed air out of the drone and forced their way down his throat: anxiety, fear, determination. Once the mutagen was in place, and the humans were cured; April would use her powers- as Kennedy had instructed- to teleport the humans back to Earth, and then she would teleport them. "Uh, dude? Humans, dead ahead."

 _Crash!_

"Whoa!"

"What was-!?"

 _Crash! Crash!_

"It's the Kraang! They found us!"

She'd ordered them to keep running. Sam had cried. Splinter had looked like the Grim Reaper had told him he had hours to live. Karai had been frozen by the venom of shock and terror. Kennedy hadn't even flinched. _Oh well, it's The Shredder's fault for putting him out in the field…_ Kennedy noticed a bulge in the soldier's chest. _Her_. The woman- no older than Kennedy- looked with wide eyes and a gaping mouth at her killer. Kennedy had probably broken a vital organ… Spinal Colom? Or was it called the spleen? Amazing how much she'd forgotten after missing a year of school. Whatever, it hadn't been enough to kill the kid.

For a brief moment; Kennedy imagined what the girl's life was like, Foot Clan aside. She was very good-looking: short blond hair, a cute little nose, baby pink lips that looked as soft as cashmere, light blue eyes, and skin the pigment of boiled pork. Kennedy would totally go for her if they'd met anywhere else. But the girl had a scar across her cute little nose and a cut on her top lip that was still healing. Kennedy hadn't hit the girl on the mouth or nose. They didn't look big enough to be from training either. Kennedy visualised the girl in frilly lingerie with a feather boa dancing around a pole. And then in an alley, meeting a customer, some lonely old guy or a very fit man about five years older than her who was really into BDSM.

Kennedy shuddered, took out her tanto, and sliced the girl's neck. _Shame that you had to go this way._ Once the tears and shouts had calmed down, and the rest of the ambush had retreated, Kennedy ran her fingers through the girl's blood, and smeared some on each cheek.

"In honor of you," she said, then kissed her two bloody fingers and placed them on the girl's forehead.

 _Whaaaahhhh! Whaaaahhhh! Whaaaahhhh!_

Donnie stumbled off of the top of the mutagen when the alarm sounded. April had caught him with her powers, which she was impressed and surprised by. The side of the drone was dented from the ramming and the starboard lasers were crushed. Mikey did a summer-sault and shot the attacking drone with his good lasers. They were flying above the mutated slaves.

"Give the one to Kraang that Kraang has come to demand you give to Kraang!"

"In your Kraangy dreams!" Mikey retorted. "You'll never get April!" silence, and then:

"It is the ones called the turtles!? And they have the one known as April O'Neil!? This is being a good day for Kraang."

"MIKEY!" Mikey flinched and glanced at the angry faces behind him. He laughed nervously and shrugged.

"Oops."

"Sensei…?"

"Let's go, Sam." Tigerclaw took Sam's hand in his monstrous paw and lead him away from the grotesque scene like a toddler, walking away from a dead animal with his father. Kennedy had always been a bit empty on the inside, which he could understand; she filled her parentless void with academics and work hours. Kennedy had always been, as her nicknames suggested; Kennedy the Genius. Kennedy the Cook, Kennedy the Creator. But Kennedy the Killer? Tyler didn't think he could live with that, and he sure as hell didn't want Sam or Mikey or anyone else living with it, especially Kennedy. Cliff's little girl, his pride and joy, his reason to live: a smart little killer.

Kennedy showed no signs of grief or guilt, only walked away with the child's blood smeared on her cheeks, head held high, fists at her sides, face a mask of 'I'd take the amount of fucks I give out of my pocket, but it's a fake pocket'. That was when Karai realised the bleeding soldier wasn't going to get up, and she fell to her knees and shook. Tigerclaw had never liked Karai, but after she'd saved him and Sam, he'd grown a small sprout of respect for her. During the months they'd lived together, she'd taken care of the sprout of respect, watered it, fed it; gave it reason to grow. At the moment, Tigerclaw wished she hadn't.

Kennedy walked to her friend, knelt, and wrapped her arms around her. She stayed like that for a very long time, until Karai lifted her head and stopped shaking. She extended her hand and Kennedy pulled her up. They walked ahead, but Kennedy didn't let go of Karai's hand.

The Kraang shot mercilessly at the turtles. Raph prayed thanks Mikey played all of the video games he did. Donnie had been levitated to the top of the mutagen by April and was hovering over the last few hinges to undo them.

"You guys have the aim of April in Smash!"

"Hey!"

"Give to Kraang the one known as April O'Neil, the one known as April O'Neil need help Kraang find the one of-"

"-Kraang, give vocal accelerator to Kraang!"

"Kraang is to wait Kraangs turn!"

"Kraang is that which is known as: a doo-doo head."

"Do not make Kraang turn that which is known as the Technodrone around!" Mikey bit his lip to keep from giggling.

"Wait," Leonardo said. "The one of what? I think we may have them on board too."

"What are you doing?!"

"Stalling, Donnie, keep working." Donnie made a mock salute and kept twisting.

"Kraang demands that you give the one to Kraang!" Leo smirked and crossed his arms.

"Which one? We have a lot of 'ones' on board."

"Give to Kraang the ones!"

"I don't think so. Why don't you tell me what one and I'll think about it?"

"Kraang is for needing the one of pure white. The one of pure eyes. The one of pure brain." A glance around told Leonardo he wasn't the only one lost.

"Uh, can you say that in English?"

"Yipe! Hey… where's April?" asked Donnie. Leo, Raph and Mikey looked around the drone. No April.

Before he could freak out or demand the Kraang return their friend, Mikey noticed the air next to him swirling, materialising. April appeared looking pale as death. A moan like a creaky floor escaped her.

"Found her," Mikey said. April hiccupped, groaned again, and flopped onto her butt.

"I hate teleporting…"

The ambushes were growing like mold. Thankfully no one but the foot soldiers had been injured, but Splinter knew better than to let his guard down. Why? Why did Shredder have to have his stupid revenge? Couldn't he have found someone else, someone besides Shein, to share his life with? Why did he need to kill him and his family? Why did he need his daughter and need to turn her against him? Couldn't he just let it go?

"Apparently not," Splinter muttered as a soldier thrusted his sword at him. Splinter chopped the man's shoulder and he collapsed.

"Well, well, well," barked a gruff and familiar voice. Splinter turned and stayed in position. "Look who let the rat out of his cage." Bradford emerged, growled, clenched and unclenched his fist, then sprung. Splinter blocked, did some jabs and punches, then hopped backwards using Bradford as a launch pad.

"I have no interest in fighting you-"

"Shame, because I can't wait to see the look on Shredder's face when I drag you to-" Kennedy was a comet, her kick, an arrow. Bradford yelped and crashed, and then he was still. Splinter stared with wide eyes at Kennedy.

"I hate dogs," she growled.

"April, what-?"

"I know what the Kraang want."

"I've got it!" Donnie said, and lifted the lid off the mutagen.

The foot was mostly defeated. It turned out Kennedy hadn't killed Bradford; only messed him up. That was when Shredder had appeared. He'd slashed Kennedy across her face and she'd stumbled into Splinter. He'd scolded that this was no way to act. Kennedy had thrown her tanto through his thigh.

Karai had tried to focus on Xever, but the thought of losing Kennedy to Shredder… Xever's leg connected with her face and Karai stumbled backwards. She felt tiny hands steady her. Karai regained her setting in time to see Xever's face soften when he looked at Sam, and harden quickly. Overwhelming awkwardness swallowed the air.

"Where's my brother?" Sam asked, his voice cracking on the word 'brother'. This time Xever's face stayed soft.

"Probably with The Shredder. He's become quite the teachers pet." Karai looked down.

"Shredder's a teacher?" Xever actually chuckled; the most genuine sound Karai had ever heard from him.

"He means a suck up, Sam." Sam looked at his feet.

"Oh…" a deep sigh.

"Boy," Xever said. Karai tensed, but Xever loosened. "I may be a 'villain', but I lived through prison. Your brother told us what he did to you and your friend…" the look they shared at that moment… Karai could have sworn they were reading each other's mind. "They did that in prison sometimes…" Sam looked like he was made of glass, and someone had taken a sledge hammer to his chest. Karai didn't feel bad for Xever, but after hearing that, she didn't want to hit him either. Xever clenched his fists and stepped back. Sorrow was painted all over his face. "This fight is pointless. Neither of you deserve to be hurt any more…" he was looking at Sam when he said it. Sam was looking in between him and Karai. Karai kept her expression hard. Xever didn't bother to hide behind a tough face. Karai nodded and took Sam's hand.

" _Arigatō, Xever-san_." Xever nodded in acknowledgment.

" _Dō itashimashite_." He threw a smoke bomb and disappeared. Sam looked at Karai.

"Is he our friend?"

"No. But, we do owe him one."

"One what?" Karai giggled and pat Sam's shoulder.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't whore and company." Sam's expression hardened and he glared over his shoulder. Karai saw him snarl. She pushed her lips together and clenched her fists. "So, where's my boy?" Miles stroked his claws and grinned at his prey. "I've been missing his voice; the way he screamed my name." Karai shuddered despite herself and scrunched her nose up. How had Sam _lived_ with this monster?

Sam growled, got into a fighting stance, drew his pocket knife. Miles positioned his daggered fists at both hips and sneered. Karai forgot she was there, and shook her head, slipping into a ready position. No one moved. Miles looked to Karai, grinned, lifted his hand, split his fingers, and stuck his tongue between them. He wiggled it a bit.

"You're disgusting!" Sam shouted. Karai lifted a brow; she assumed Miles had been making a dirty reference, but it was foreign to her. Miles threw his head back and cackled.

"Why, thank-you, brother!" Sam snarled; his body tight with anticipation.

"You're no brother to me." Miles was blessedly silent for a minute, then his eyes found Karai again. He smirked.

"You're Raph's sister." Karai lifted a brow. "But you and Leo… you're his girl, aren't you?" he chided.

"I belong to no one." The words were out before she could stop herself. Miles ignored her.

"But Raph and Leo are brothers… incest." He spat the word as if it were acid. "And you call me disgusting."

"Hypocrite," Sam hissed. Karai had to remind herself that Sam was 11 years old. Miles almost looked sympathetic.

"Oh, Sammy," Sam flinched, stepped backwards beside Karai. "Don't you see? I never wanted that."

"Bull!"

"Sam…" Karai almost reached for him, but his rage burned her hand.

"All I wanted was to show you how much I love you," Miles sang, his grin returning. "All I wanted was you."

"I hate you." He had such fire, such white-hot intensity in his tone, Miles stepped back, mouth a-gape, eyes wide. Karai only stared. Sam was not a hateful person: he forgave his father after he'd thrown him against the wall and broken his elbow. He forgave his mother for calling him a lying little retard when he'd told her about Miles. He forgave Kennedy for having Miles sent to Juvy. Miles bared his teeth.

"I was going to bring you back with me. You would have loved it, Sammy. They have awesome… toys, there. But that little outburst, just earned you a spot next to that Barbie doll while I beat the pretty off of her face! See how much Leo wants to fuck you then!" Miles charged. Sam readied a block, but Miles tackled him so quickly he flew a few feet back. Miles was on him, slashing and punching and spitting and cussing. Sam's knee connected with Miles' groin, but he didn't even flinch. And then Sam was screaming.

Karai flew into Miles like Superman. Miles pinned her effortlessly, grinning; a shark and Nemo. "Fine, if you're so desperate for me to take you to Shredder-" Karai spat in his face. Miles flinched, hissed. Karai head-butted him; it was like head-butting a steel wall. She saw stars. She was floating. Something slick clamped onto her neck. It squeezed tighter, tighter… she whimpered. Something vibrated with laughter.

"Stop it!" a voice. Desperate. Something cool and hard touched her temple. Someone wailed.

"Now," a voice, muffled, deeper than the first, "If you behave, I'll be gentle," the voice purred beside her ear. "That goes for you too! Now, sit and wait. You're going to watch what happens, Sam, when people disrespect me." A sound like thunder, and the clamp on her neck was gone, and in its place, some missing skin. Karai tried to move her hand, found that she could, brought it up to her neck, and winced. She felt blood.

"Don't touch that," a voice deep as an ocean said. Karai realised she couldn't see.

"Sensei!" the high voice said.

"Karai?"

"Uuhm… I-I can't see…" something touched her eyes. It rubbed. Then it was gone. Karai saw blurs. "Th-thanks…" She felt arms lift her, her feet touched ground, something put her palm against her head. She felt blood again. She moaned.

"I can't wait to make you do that." Karai saw his form and growled. Tiny hands steadied her.

"Leave us, Miles. Or I will shoot." His paw was on her back. Karai blinked rapidly. Tigerclaw hadn't used his guns in almost a year.

 _Whoosh, swipe, click-click_. "I could say the same to you, old man."

Leatherhead only saw the gun and who it was aimed at. He sunk into the shadows. Circled around…

"… you doing this? There's nothing for you on this path."

"I don't need a fucking goodie-goodie lecture. Besides…" the bladed turtle smirked at Karai and Sam before continuing. "Your father has good resources, Karai. I got hoes with legs that spread like butter."

"He's not my father," Karai spat, but she was practically using Tigerclaw as a shield. Closer… the gun pointed at Leatherhead.

"You're bad at sneaking, freak." Leatherhead growled. Tigerclaw aimed his freeze gun. Miles panicked and swung his pistol around. Tigerclaw panicked. Two unbelievable explosions. Miles' foot got caught. Tigerclaw had grabbed Sam and Karai and leapt away from the bullet.

"Run! Both of you!" Sam dashed with Tigerclaw. Karai was still sitting up, dazed. "Karai!" Tigerclaw ran back just as Miles leveled his gun. Tigerclaw stood in front of Karai and aimed.

BAM!

Tigerclaw stumbled back into Karai, but held his aim.

ZAP!

And Miles was frozen from head to toe. Tigerclaw breathed for a second, fell to one knee, then onto his stomach.

"Sensei!" Leatherhead emerged, and flipped Tigerclaw onto his back. A bullet hole right where his heart would be. Leatherhead whipped at his face before anyone saw. Sam leapt next to Tigerclaw, crying, pleading, even threatening. Karai still hadn't gotten up. She was gazing blankly at Leatherhead. "C'mon, Sensei, c'mon! You gotta get up, c'mon!" Sam shook Tigerclaw by the vest. "Wake up!" and then he stopped, as if someone had hit pause. He rose shakily. Looked at Karai, looked at Leatherhead, looked at Tigerclaw's corpse, and then he collapsed.

"Sam!" Leatherhead knelt by the boy and checked his pulse. It was there, calm as ever. His breathing was fine. His heart was beating. But his eyes remained closed.

Kennedy had seen it through her peripheral vision, and the fact she couldn't help only fuelled her adrenalin. She'd kicked apart on of Xever's ro-bo legs and nearly broke Rahzar in two. Shredder had stepped in then; annoyance crossed his eyes from being distracted from Splinter.

"A lesser man would say you're more trouble than you're worth, dear." Something about his word choice was like sandpaper dragging up her spine. Kennedy used Shredder as a launch-pad and flew backwards.

"I get that a lot." A feeling; blue and pure, and then, Cliff stood before her. Kennedy gaped. "Sensei?" Cliff raised his hand, palm out, and Kennedy was silent.

"Go, sweetie," said the figure before her. Cliff had never in his life addressed Kennedy as 'sweetie' or any of those pet names. "Go to your father." Kennedy lifted a brow, debating whether or not to ask if the fumes from New York were making him loopy, and saw Shredder; arms spread, smirking, glaring. She hardened her expression.

"A: you're stupid. B: daddy's dead. C: get the fuck out of my head," she said to Shredder. He scowled, and Cliff faded. Pain! And a memory. Kennedy screamed as her burning house was forced into her mind. Her mother, flames swallowed her once pretty face, her eldest brother, who's name she'd long forgotten, with the arm black as night and charred like a burned marshmallow. _Yuki, Gavin_. Kennedy paused, _well, yeah, but…_ her twin baby sisters, squalling and wailing under the flaming planks, her younger and older brothers falling like a sack of bricks on fire. _Emma and Komoko, Renfeild, Luka_. Kennedy could only be suspicious for a second, then she saw her other younger brother and sister, sobbing as they watched her jump, and her two older sisters, who'd died when she was gone. _Laura, Sohrab, Milanda, Soraya_.

"Do not disrespect your father, Kiki." Kennedy saw a man approaching her charred house, a man with a little girl that looked about five. The man dropped the little girl and ran inside. The man was seeing the corpses, and Kennedy begged to look away, but Shredder held her mind and she saw them; Gavin, Emma and Komoko, her mother, everyone. The man sobbed in the memory. The little girl he'd dropped, a splitting resemblance of Karai now that Kennedy could see her face, stalked towards him cautiously, and he embraced her and sobbed into her. _"You're all I have now, Karai,"_ the man said between wheezes and sobbing. The memory faded, and Kennedy could breathe again. The air was thick and she felt sick.

"You see, dear Kiki? Now I have you back."

"Stop it… messing with my head is one goddamn thing, but-" pain, and Kennedy sank to her knees and gripped her temples.

"Watch your mouth," Shredder said.

"F-… fuck you," she sputtered, and instantly regretted it. The pain was amazing, like a blister in her brain had exploded and burst the damned thing. Kennedy chuckled: it would almost be a relief. She thought she heard her name, someone shouting to her in reality. "C'mon, Kenn-" _Kiki._ "Kenn… c'mon girl, think, how can you- AHH!"

"You'll do nothing of the sort." He was still talking, but Kennedy wasn't listening. Something about: 'how this is going to work, blah, blah, blah, you and Karai surrender to me, blah, blah, blah…' How?! How was she going to do it? She couldn't defeat him, not like this (admitting that was like swallowing rocks) so what could she do to protect Karai? Fuck herself, she could be damned for all eternity for all she cared, but Kennedy was not going to let Shredder have Karai, whether she was his blood or not. _Death…_

 _What the…?_ She could have sworn she'd heard a voice.

 _Die._

 _Die? What…?_

 _The only way to be free is to shatter everything you were, and become new_. Kennedy didn't think, but realised what the little voice meant. Shredder's clamp on her mind was still strong, but if she could break free for just a moment… the Kraang were shooting a tank from his roof, one blast from that… it would do nicely. And he wouldn't be able to use her as a hostage. Shredder's grip was gone! Splinter! Kennedy got up and flew towards the lazar. One blast was all it would take, then her friends could escape, and she would finally be free. No more Kennedy the Genius, Kennedy the Artist, Kennedy the Cook. Try Kennedy the Corpse.

The lazar swerved, and Kennedy jumped. She saw Karai, staring in horror, Sam, shouting something, and Leatherhead, gazing with sad realization. And then she kept flying, everything was white and she was flying up, up, up, into her Sensei's arms…

"KENNEDY!" Kennedy's body slammed onto the ground and went limp; a hole through her chest the size of her head was smoking. Karai screamed and kept screaming because she didn't know what else to do. Shredder noticed, turned, and a stream of curses filled the air. Splinter was at Karai's side. He was saying something, but Karai couldn't hear anything, everything was too loud. No, Kennedy couldn't be dead, it was an illusion, she was certain, and then she smelt it: burned hair and sweet decay. She started to cry then, gentle, uncertain at first, but the further they fled, the stronger the burnt hair reeked, and the more heavy her chest felt, and the more tears she shed, and the louder the chaos became.

Back at the lair, everyone was quiet, aside from the tears that just wouldn't stop falling. Karai remained burrowed in her father's embrace, and Sam, in Leatherhead's. The other Mutanimals rummaged through the lair. Pidgin Pete rested on the wooden spiral, gnawing on a stick of bread. Rockwell searched Donatello's lab for a distraction. Slash sat beside Leatherhead, staring at the ground, moping.

"Well, Donatello certainly keeps his lab put away; I can't find anything except Sudoku books," muttered Rockwell as he shuffled out, book and pen in hand.

"Yes, those puzzles are a bit of an addiction for him. That and coffee," Splinter muttered. Silence took over again. Rockwell had finished the puzzles and was long-dividing on the back. Sam had fallen asleep. Karai stared at the floor and waited for her brother's return. Pete had gone to and from the kitchen three times in search of more bread. The last time he'd only found pizza crust.

Sound.

Soft, then, louder, louder… pink, purple and blue spiked from above the distraught heroes, then, the turtles and others dropped in front of the couch.


	22. Chapter 22

The Glasses of Life

Chapter 22

The news about Tigerclaw had been rough, but the news about Kennedy… Donnie hadn't believed it at first. He'd thought Splinter was lying, and Kenn was just pulling a twisted prank. He'd searched every room of the lair, all the surrounding tunnels, and she was nowhere to be seen. He'd returned, fuming, still not believing Kennedy was gone. He'd said it wasn't funny. Then he'd noticed Karai. She and Leo were hugging, which wasn't saying much, but then Donnie noticed the _way_ they were hugging. Karai was clinging to him, and though she'd been facing away, Donnie could see she was crying, which could have been proof enough. And Leo… he had rested his chin on her shoulder, and he held her as if she would break if he let go. Splinter had been sitting on the couch, staring, his arms limp. Mikey was with Leatherhead and Sam. Raph and Casey sat near Slash. Raph was staring at his Sai, rapidly blinking and wiping his arm across his eyes, and Casey was cradling his injured knee. April had approached, looking like she was walking with a bullet wound. Kennedy's glasses were in her limp hand. "She's gone, Donnie." He'd been silent since.

The turtles had told of what they'd learned once the sadness calmed.

"… and Donnie swiped this from the drone," Leonardo said. He had one arm around Karai, the other holding the small rectangular portal. "It's supposed to lead to the dimension that the one the Kraang needs is."

"I see," said Splinter. "Who do they need, again?" Leo sighed.

"'The one of pure white, eyes, and brain.'" Splinter stared at his son. "I don't know what it means, Sensei," Leo murmured and shrugged. "None of us do."

"White?" Leo looked to Sam from across the room. It was the first he'd spoken since losing Tigerclaw.

"Yeah?"

"White is innocence." Leo stared at the boy for a long time. "Does that make more sense?" He nodded slowly.

"Yes, actually… yeah, because the colour is… I see, thanks Sam."

"If the words were symbols, 'brain' could be intelligence," Donnie supplied. Leo nodded.

"Yeah, that would make sense."

"Wait," Mikey said, "then what's 'pure eyes'?"

"Insight." Everyone stared at Karai, but she hugged her legs to her chest and hid her face, clearly intending to remain silent. Everyone looked away then.

It had been decided that they would all go to the dimension in the morning. The Mutanimals had offered to guard the lair, but had decided not to leave with the turtles. Karai had been the first to go to her room, and, after noticing the gauze around her head and bruise on her neck, Leo wanted to make sure she was okay before he did the same. Everyone else was in bed. He knocked on the frame she used as a door. No response. He pushed it open, crept in, and closed it again. When he turned around, she was in front of him, staring blankly. He jumped and almost screamed. She lifted a brow and tilted her head: _you're not very quiet._ Leo chuckled nervously and smiled: _well, how else would you know it was me?_

Karai remained silent, and stepped into his embrace. Leo could feel her shaking, trying desperately not to start crying again. She was dressed in a loose-fitting T-shirt and camo PJ shorts, given to her by Kennedy, Leo realised. Her hair was down, and the curls tickled him. Her shoulders tensed under his chin, and she buried her face in his neck, breath caressing his collar bone. Leo tried not to move. He took time to notice the tattoos that littered her body. Japanese Samurai and Honour Codes, mostly. His favourite was her mother's name (written in Japanese) in front of a cherry blossom tree, on her lower back. Shredder had forced her to get one of the Foot Clan symbol as well. It rested on her wrist. She'd told him the pain had nearly pushed her to tears, only because she'd been 10 when she got it.

"Do they look weird?" it was only a whisper, but her voice made Leo smile.

"No." He felt her nod, he felt her clench her fists against his shell. He held her tighter. "They look perfect." Something wet hit his skin, and Karai raised her head and wiped her eyes on her shoulder. Leo lifted his head and looked at her. She kept her eyes down.

"S-sorry… I know I've been… doing this a lot today…" he wanted to wipe away her tears like they did in the movies, but Karai didn't like her face being touched.

"Don't apologise, Karai, you have a right to be upset." She sniffled and dragged her arm across her face. Averted her eyes. Leo held her against him again. "You don't have to be sorry for having emotions." Leo flushed when her lips touched his cheek, lingered, then she stood on her toes.

"You're too nice, Leo," she whispered, and kissed his cheek again. He shivered, and Karai giggled, to Leo's relief. "I'm glad I still have you." Leo's face went beat red, and he tried to supress a giddy smile before she noticed. He felt her giggling, but she wasn't looking at his face.

"Wh-what?" she giggled again before answering.

"Your tail." Leo's blush deepened when he noticed his tail swinging back and forth. "Well, I always wanted a puppy as a kid," she teased. Leo gulped and tried to look away, but Karai's eyes were hypnotic. She cupped his face and kissed him. He tentatively returned it. A moment ago, she'd been on the verge of tears, was this really appropriate? _Screw appropriate_ , said a hidden part of his mind when she deepened the kiss. His body reacted without his permission; his hands moved up her hips, his tongue strained for her taste, and a part of him long forsaken stood, pushing against his plastron, longing for attention. The pain from the erection pulled Leonardo down from his moment of peace and he snatched his mouth away.

"W… wait…" Karai stared and pouted. Then her friskiness fled, and her eyes grew glossy. Leonardo panicked and started to babble: "I- I mean, it's not that I don't… _want_ to, goddamn I've never wanted to this much…"

"Want to what, Leo?" her tone was challenging. Leo stared for a minute, then blushed and averted his eyes.

"U-uh… wh-what we were just doing…?" Karai stared for a moment, closed her eyes, nodded to herself, and lowered her head. Leo lifted a brow. "What's wrong?" she sighed but didn't answer him. Worry overtook his confusion. "Karai?" her palm was against his plastron, over one of the scars he'd long forgotten, and she curled it into a loose fist. Leo grasped her hands. "Karai?" she looked up at him and an unmistakable emotion flashed in her eyes. Leo blinked, then blushed and loosened his grip. "Oh…" was all he could think to say.

"… I get it," she finally whispered. Her expression told Leo she didn't. "If… I'm… yeah, I see your point, Leo, I just-" she sniffled, wiped her face, looked down. Leo released her hands and captured her body in an iron embrace.

"… I want to," he whispered, almost growled. By the firmness she felt through his lower plastron, he wasn't lying. "But… I don't want to hurt you." He held her tighter. Her arms snaked around him as well.

"I don't think you could, even if you tried." Leo smiled but didn't let go.

"I also don't want to upset you, or anyone anymore. I mean… is this a good time? Kenn just-" she clenched her fist, which held the tails of his bandana. "… and… I-I know… you don't want to think about that, but distracting yourself won't make it go away…" she yanked his bandana, hard enough to pull his head back but not hurt him. "… I-I know you know this… but I don't know… Karai?" She lifted her head to see his face. "I… th-the thought of… that… I-I know I write about it…" he averted his eyes, blushed. Karai touched his cheek and he looked back at her. "B-but… actually doing it… it scares me." His hands were trembling and his voice was quivering, as if trying to prove his point. "I… I don't want to hurt you," he said again. Karai sighed. What a sweetheart… her body tingled in agreement. "And-"

"Leo." Karai put a finger to his lips. They trembled with his breathing. "Please," she slid her hand behind his head, pulled the tails of his bandana up, tugged it off, "make something in my life feel good…" that slayed whatever resistance he had, and he tackled her onto her mattress. She'd been surprised by how quickly his attitude changed, and supressed a laugh when she landed on the bedding.

Leo took the opportunity to explore the tattoos as well as her body. There was one on her neck that read: "Balance" in Japanese. He kissed it, leaving a trail down to her collar bone, where a half human half zombie creature was holding up a middle finger and a bone that read: "Bite me". Leonardo complied, gently, and Karai purred and pushed his head against her body. He had a sudden desire to see the other tattoos and tugged twice at her T-shirt: _may I?_ She nodded. He kissed her mouth and wrestled the shirt up her torso, leaned on his elbows, and watched Karai's face emerge from the shirt, like the most perfect butterfly emerging from a cocoon. Lips, nose, eyes, she threw the shirt aside. He stared at her face for a moment, smiling like she'd given him cake.

Karai looked to her side, blushed, and looked back at Leo, who was still beaming at her. She waited for him to look away, but he didn't, and the longer he stared, the more she blushed.

"What?" she asked, finally. He chuckled and nuzzled her, resting his forehead against hers.

"You're beautiful," he whispered and kissed her shoulder. Karai spread her fingers over the back of his head, listening to his rapid breathing, feeling his hungry mouth plant sweet kisses and occasional nips on her body. Leo was more muscular than any of the men who'd done this to her, and yet, he was the gentlest. Normally, the bites drew blood. Normally, they'd already be inside her, not bothering to kiss her. No one had ever called her beautiful, especially not when she was naked. One guy actually walked out of the room, shirtless and all. The nicest ones talked dirty.

Karai moved her hand down his head, neck, onto his shell. He moaned into her neck. She rubbed his shell and his tail responded. She giggled and made a grab for it. She missed and tried again. This time she caught it. Leo's body stiffened, including his jaw. Karai gasped as tiny bits of pain appeared and disappeared on her neck. "Oh, Jeez, sorry!" He propped himself on his elbows and stared at her with soft concern. "I'm sorry, I- are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Leo, it was my fault anyway." She held his face. "Did that hurt you?" the blush returned.

"N-no, I, uh… j-just wasn't… expecting it… it's sensitive," he stuttered, whispered the last part. Karai smirked.

"Oh really?" she tightened her grip a bit and Leo squeaked. He then covered his mouth and blushed. Karai smiled and pulled his head towards her, kissed him, stroked his tail and hid a smirk when he tensed and started panting. "You sure it doesn't hurt?" he nodded into her neck, his labored breathing making her skin tingle. She moved her thumb along his tail, and Leo griped the pillow under her with both hands. He twitched with pleasure, and gasped when her lips touched his neck. He almost pulled away, almost told her to stop, but this was Karai, she was his best friend… it still sounded odd to think of her as a friend, but, it was true, wasn't it? She knew more about him than all of his brothers; his favourite tea, his first word, his stories, his love for her, and now, the two most sensitive parts of his body. He sighed as she kissed under his chin. He let himself relax, let her touch him, and let himself give in to his desires.

He was quivering, half from the surprise, half from the pleasure. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulled him into her lips, smiled. "And you were worried." He managed a small smile.

"What was I thinking?" she giggled and kissed his forehead. As soon as her lips left, he remembered why he'd been worried. He gasped. Karai lifted a brow. "Oh my God… what if…?!" he lowered his voice, stared into her eyes. "… what if you get pregnant?" Karai was so taken aback she laughed. "Wh-what's so funny?"

"Leo, you don't… we don't need to worry about that." His blank expression told Karai he needed further information. She moved her mouth next to his ear. "Shredder had all of my eggs surgically removed when I was three." Leo stared for a minute then he tentatively reached for her belly. She smiled to show it was okay.

"… He didn't even…?" Karai shook her head ruefully.

"It's okay, Leo, I never wanted kids anyway… not when I was with him." Leo nodded. He stared as if he expected her stomach to come alive and eat him. He stroked it with his thumb, smiled sadly at it. Karai lifted a brow, and watched him for a while, then, he leaned down to kiss it.

Leo glanced back at her, blinked, and a tear fell. She wiped it away and he leaned into her touch. They stared at each other in silence until Leo looked back at Karai's stomach, rubbed gently, and looked up at her.

"I always wanted a girl."

Karai hadn't slept so well in years, so she'd been annoyed when Sam woke her up. Then she'd seen his face, and shook Leo awake. As he rose, Donatello appeared in the doorway and closed it, barricading it with his body.

"Get up!" he looked at her and Leo, blushed, and looked away again. Karai remembered she'd lost the majority of her PJs last night and felt around for them. Leo was in a daze; he got up, groaned and lay back down. Sam jumped on him.

"Leo! Wake up! We're getting attacked!" Karai couldn't find her PJ's. She stood to look for them, then remembered she was naked. She sat down abruptly and pulled the blanket up to her. A million thoughts ran laps in her head, the main two being: Sam just saw me naked, and: Donnie knows. Something flew onto the comforter. Karai looked at it and realised it was her PJ's. She glanced at Donnie, who wasn't looking at her, but nodded. Karai let out the breath she'd been holding in: maybe he wouldn't kill her after all.

Now Leo was awake and dressing quickly. He looked at Karai and she could see he was relived and disappointed that she was clothed. "How did they find us?" Donnie shrugged.

"Maybe they smacked one of us with a tracker?"

"Miles is here," Sam said like he was in a dream. Karai touched his shoulder and was gratified when he didn't move away.

"I have the portal to the other dimension ready, all we have to do is barricade ourselves in my lab and use it." Leo nodded. Karai stood and helped Sam up. He was visibly scared. Karai squeezed his hand.

"We won't let Miles take you." Sam gave a small smile, and walked to the door with Donnie. They opened it and charged. The hall was empty for now. Leo turned to Karai, his naked face twisted in fear. His kiss was hungry and scared, and she wrapped her arms around his neck trying to comfort him.

"I love you," he said suddenly. Karai froze. "I have to tell you now… in case I can't later-"

"Leo, don't say that, you're not going to die." He hugged her and kissed her forehead below the bandage.

"I never said anything about dying."

"Leo-"

"I just want you to know, Karai, I love you, no matter what happens, I love you." How could he say it so easily? Again, no one had ever said those words to her before. Was it that… that he could just say it and mean it? _Of course he means it!_ a little voice in her head said, _he wants you to say it back to him_. Karai wasn't ready, she didn't know if she would ever be ready to say it back. She just stared, all while wishing she could say it back. It was just three little words; _I love you_ , what was the problem? She tried to say it with a kiss, deep enough to drown a giant. He returned it, but Karai knew he was hurt. He played with the tails of his bandana around her neck. Karai moved her hands to remove it and give it back to him, but he left to join the brawl before she got if off.

Donnie didn't hate Karai, he never really did, but this morning… and right after her best-friend died… Donnie was sure she'd just wanted a distraction, a pleasant distraction, which was understandable, but if that were the case… couldn't she have just…? He didn't want to butt in on her business, but was sex really necessary?

He blocked a strike from the nearest Foot bot and stabbed through its head.

And why would Leo agree to do that with her? He… he couldn't still like her, could he? No, no he said he was… Donnie mentally kicked himself. How blind was he? Splinter was right: the obvious did elude him.

He leapt over one of the bots and stabbed two.

Leo talked about her all the time when they'd been at April's farm house, and when they were at Kennedy's lake house, he'd only talked _to_ her, if he could help it. He'd never let anyone hurt her… in fact; he'd threatened to kill Miles if he got near her again. Whenever they were in a group, Leo would make it a point to stick close to her, in Dimension X all he could think about was getting home to her (although he hadn't said that out loud, he always blushed when he thought about her, and during the entire trip his face was pink as a rose) and when he had gotten home, she'd been the first person he went to. Splinter had been sitting right there, and he'd gone right around him. And now he'd made love to her…

Donnie lifted a brow as he and his family closed in on the lab.

When had he started calling it "making love" instead of "having sex"? Same thing? Maybe. Different feelings? Most definitely. Karai bumped into him. He stole a glance at her. She was flushed, snarling at the Foot bots and, Donnie noted, barefoot. She had "messed up sex hair" as he'd heard it called on TV, and, for the first time he noticed all of her tattoos. Karai had a nice body for tattoos; long legs, short hair, boyish but clearly female, and an impish quality Don had never been able to put a finger on. He noticed the Foot symbol on her wrist and scowled. That almost certainly wasn't her idea. He also noticed she didn't have a weapon.

Leonardo appeared and slashed the Foot bots apart. He turned to Karai, ignoring Donnie, reached behind his back, and took out a tanto. He handed it to Karai, whose eyes were wide.

"Is this…?"

"Mm-hm." She took it and grinned.

"You kept it." Leo smiled sheepishly, opened his mouth, then remembered Donnie and nodded to her instead.

"Donnie, is the portal almost ready?" Donnie shook himself out of his trance.

"Ready when you are." Leo nodded and took off another robot head.

"Get it started." He yelled out a fallback command in Japanese and fought off the other bots while everyone ran.

Donnie typed some things into his computer, and the portal opened. He handed out air tanks to everyone in case the atmosphere wasn't breathable. And then he named the groups.

"Master Splinter, Casey, and April," sending April with Casey was like swallowing rocks, but they needed a protector, "you guys can look around here," he moved his hand around an area on his map, "this is where my scanners detected the closest match to the DNA we found in the lab reports, so we'll all circle around here. Remember, only… 'the one' will be able to see you." They nodded. April hugged him and told him to be careful once he left. Then she was gone. "Okay, Raph, Mikey." The duo approached. Donnie handed them their scanners. "You guys will look around here, it's a bit further off, but you're faster than them, you'll cover more ground." They ran into the portal. He handed a scanner to Karai. "I was gonna put Sam with them, but he listens to Leo better." She nodded. She wasn't interested; she just wanted Leo to come in and run through with…

"Hey, where is Sam?" Donnie glanced around the lab then looked back at her, star struck.

"I don't… Leo called a fallback…" Karai's eyes widened.

"Sam doesn't speak Japanese!" the lab doors blew apart. Leo was flung inside, smacked into Donnie. Karai put his arm around her shoulders and hauled him up. "Where's Sam?" Leo groaned and held his head.

"Idunho… I don't know…" ask and ye shall receive, in came Sam, he kicked off a bot and stood next to Karai. One of the bots launched an electric rope, aiming for Karai. Leo blocked it, screamed from the pain, and was yanked forward. Karai caught his other hand, and Donnie grabbed it with her. They pulled, and Leo growled but he pulled too.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," scolded an all too familiar voice. Miles walked towards them, hands on his hips, one holding the end of the rope. Miles noticed Leo's wrist and grinned. "Just like a dog," he sneered, "protect his mistress." He glared at Karai. "Maybe she'll give you a treat." Suddenly it hit Sam: Miles was jealous of Karai. And if he got Leo, he would… no, it happened to him, it happened to Mikey, but Sam couldn't let it happen to Leo. He would have to get Miles to chase him…

A sound like a zipper crawled through the air. Donnie looked to his right. Sam had opened another portal. But, that one lead to Dimension X…

"Hey, Miles!" Miles turned only quick enough to see Sam give him the finger. "Come and fucking get me!" he charged into the portal, just as Donnie was about to yell that it was the wrong portal. Miles gasped and dropped the rope, then realised what he'd done and reached for it. Leo wasted no time: he shoved Karai and Donnie backwards. Shoved again. Karai fell, screaming into the portal. Leo and Donnie shared eye contact.

"Take care of her for me. And tell her I'm sorry…" he took a breath "… and that I still love her." He shoved Donnie inside. Before entering the dimension, there was a pink area, and a glowing doorway, like an enchanted waiting room. Karai ran to him, helped him up, then looked around, and worry took over her features again.

"Where's Leo?" they saw his face through the doorway back home. He did look truly sorry. Karai saw it too. "No, no, no, Leo!"

"He can't hear you," Donnie said, though he doubted that would stop her.

"Leo, no!" there was a cracking sound, and then the doorway home started to fade. It erased the visual of Leo's face like a ripple in a pond, fading away. Suddenly the ground disappeared and Karai and Donnie were falling. Don saw blurs of ground reaching for them. _Take care of her for me_. Donnie grabbed Karai and held her against his front, until a loud noise and an amazing pain in his back told him he'd landed, but bounced up from momentum. Reality slipped away, and Donnie felt his body going limp, and his mind, for once, shutting down.

Mel gasped and sat up. She _hated_ the feeling of falling in a dream. She groaned and lay back down. Another TMNT dream… _I've been working too hard on that story_ , she decided, and rolled out of her bed. A snort.

"Husmm… wassapenin… Mel?"

"Hey Quinn."

"What time is it?"

"Time for me to train." Mel left her room and went to the bathroom. She peed, washed her hands, took out her retainers, brushed her teeth, washed her face, took a shower, masturbated, and then washed her hands again. She was back to her room getting dressed in 45 minutes. She went with her usual: yoga pants, an exercise tank-top, and her neon orange sneakers with light blue laces. It was November, but she would be sweating in a matter of minutes. She grabbed her hand wraps, her Jo-staff, her water bottle, and four CD's. She then reached back to put her hair in a ponytail, as usual, but then she remembered it was mostly gone. She put on her Sonic the Hedgehog baseball cap and flew outside.

The chilly air felt good against her flushed skin. Her Sensei was waiting for her, a cold beer in one hand, cigarette in the other. Mel did her two fingered salute-wave, and roundhouse kicked his reflex bag.

"Tough night?"

"You wouldn't believe," she muttered and began to wrap her hands. "I think my dreams want me to go insane." Her Sensei laughed. "You know in my story, how TMNT come to our dimension?" Wayne nodded, and gave a sympathetic smile. "These dreams had better be predicting the future or I swear I will by a dream catcher."

End of Book 1

AN: hey, dudes, Mel here. Holy crud it's been a while since I've reread this... I apologize for my cringy fluff scenes, my lord that was hard not to cut out. But I'm too far into this to make any big changes. So yeah, Book One, down. Book Two, coming soon. I hope you all like it so far!


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